Skip to main content
ideal

ideal

116 7.4
Only in the mind or theory, not in physical reality
  • adjective
  • /aɪˈdiːəl/
  • Specialized
: ideal
  • Philosophers often debate the concept of an ideal society where justice and equality prevail.
  • an ideal society
  • an ideal world
  • ideal form

Not just formal, not just ideal, but actual.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • We have to take down this love-and-marriage ideal from its pedestal.

  • And I want you to take it not on your ideal self, your real self.

  • This would be the ideal time for you to discover your secret powers!

  • The weather conditions are far from ideal and latest reports indicate there is no relief in sight.

  • It's the ideal illustration of this myth.

  • In my ideal world, there wouldn't have to be a funeral, would there?

  • This is not the ideal time to transplant bulbs.

  • Back in Nebraska, Mallory had built up for her an ideal Honduras, a magical place of innocence.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Are you an absolutist or a relativist, ideal or practical in your worldly posture?

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Utopian visions portray the general characteristics of an ideal society and often emerge from distaste for the status quo.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

imaginary
vsideal
1 5.5

Ideas or images that exist only in the mind and are not real

is used for concepts tied to ideas or philosophy rather than physical reality

Antonyms

∞ 1.4

The way things really are, not how we imagine or wish

3 7.9

Physical existence of something you can touch or see

Compounds

ideal gas
  • Specialized
1 4.4

An imaginary gas made of tiny particles that take up no space and do not affect each other

1 9.9

A perfect example of a person or thing that people admire

ego ideal
  • Specialized
1 9.6

An inside standard you try to reach for your behavior and achievements that you often learn from parents

Carnot's ideal cycle
  • Specialized
9.9

A model of a perfect machine that turns heat into work to show the highest possible efficiency

9.9

A belief in maximum personal freedom and very little government control

ideal solid
  • Specialized
8.3

A three-dimensional shape with identical regular flat faces, like a cube

How Abstract

abstract
86 7.4
theoretical
133 6.3
ideal
  • Specialized
116 7.4
realistic
283 3.7
concrete
206 3.9

Surface Forms

ideal positive

Morphology

ideal = idea (transparent) = idea + al

The word is a regular adjective formation from 'idea' with the suffix '-al', so the sense 'relating to ideas or philosophy' follows directly from the base word.

Etymology

Ideal comes from the word idea, which in Greek meant a 'form' or the picture you see in your mind. So an ideal in this sense is something that exists as a mental concept rather than as a real thing.