ideal type

American  

noun

1. a construct abstracted from experience in which individual elements are combined to form a whole that is conceptually independent of empirical factors or variables, but against which particular examples of the appropriate class found in life can be measured.

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Etymology

Origin of ideal type

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

And Wilson might be the ideal type of player to gamble on in this area.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 6, 2023

In her hour-long comedy special, Nicole Byer reminisces over all the craziness spurred by a pandemic-plagued year-plus and jokes about everything from her ideal type to her ambiguous veganism.

From Salon • Dec. 4, 2021

Therefore, the ideal type of bureaucracy, the Weberian model, was one in which agencies are apolitical, hierarchically organized, and governed by formal procedures.

From Textbooks • Jul. 28, 2021

But even if they are just passing through, they appear to be the ideal type of houseguest that leaves the place a bit better than they found it.

From Scientific American • Nov. 8, 2019

The popular estimate, and even the real moral condition, of each class depends chiefly upon the degree in which the type of character its position naturally develops, coincides with the ideal type of the age.

From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 2 of 2) by Lecky, William Edward Hartpole