ideal
a conception of something in its perfection.
a standard of perfection or excellence.
a person or thing conceived as embodying such a conception or conforming to such a standard, and taken as a model for imitation: Thomas Jefferson was his ideal.
an ultimate object or aim of endeavor, especially one of high or noble character: He refuses to compromise any of his ideals.
something that exists only in the imagination: To achieve the ideal is almost hopeless.
Mathematics. a subring of a ring, any element of which when multiplied by any element of the ring results in an element of the subring.
conceived as constituting a standard of perfection or excellence: ideal beauty.
regarded as perfect of its kind: an ideal spot for a home.
existing only in the imagination; not real or actual: Nature is real; beauty is ideal.
advantageous; excellent; best: It would be ideal if she could accompany us as she knows the way.
based upon an ideal or ideals: the ideal theory of numbers.
Philosophy.
pertaining to a possible state of affairs considered as highly desirable.
pertaining to or of the nature of idealism.
Origin of ideal
1synonym study For ideal
Other words for ideal
Other words from ideal
- i·de·al·ness, noun
- qua·si-i·de·al, adjective
- qua·si-i·de·al·ly, adverb
- sub·i·de·al, adjective, noun
- su·per·i·de·al, adjective, noun
- su·per·i·de·al·ly, adverb
- un·i·de·al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use ideal in a sentence
A soldier in the service of ideals and aspirations that formed his core.
Could he have won the White House in 1992, and if he had, would he have lived up to his ideals?
But even they should see the marches as expressions of our best and highest ideals.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face? | Goldie Taylor | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSoon enough, Castro turned his back on those ideals, embracing Soviet style communism.
A minimum wage is consistent with conservative ideals, for four reasons.
To Make Their Victory Durable, the GOP Must Fix the Minimum Wage | Dmitri Mehlhorn | November 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In practice one party seems about as bad as the other, but at least the Democratic ideals more nearly correspond with my own.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonGod knows, all that we have now are a bitter disappointment to those of us with any of the old ideals left.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonMrs. Wheaton, for all her petty airs and evil-scenting profile, was really a woman of high ideals.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonA stream never rises above its source, nor a home above the ideals of its founders.
The value of a praying mother | Isabel C. ByrumThe poems inspired by the love of the ancient ideals and literature of Provence are very beautiful.
Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred Downer
British Dictionary definitions for ideal
/ (aɪˈdɪəl) /
a conception of something that is perfect, esp that which one seeks to attain
a person or thing considered to represent perfection: he's her ideal
something existing only as an idea
a pattern or model, esp of ethical behaviour
conforming to an ideal
of, involving, or existing in the form of an idea
philosophy
of or relating to a highly desirable and possible state of affairs
of or relating to idealism
Derived forms of ideal
- ideality (ˌaɪdɪˈælɪtɪ), noun
- ideally, adverb
- idealness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse