What does "ideal" mean?
A perfect standard of beauty, intellect etc., or a standard of excellence to aim at.
Ideal
/aɪˈdi(ə)l/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A perfect standard of beauty, intellect etc., or a standard of excellence to aim at.
- Grammar: ideal is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: paragon, absolute, abstract, abstract principle.
- Useful contrasts: pessimal, actual performance, actual results.
- Usage evidence: We are haunted by an ideal life, and it is because we have within us the beginning and the possibility for it.
How to use "ideal"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ideal" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ideal" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ideal" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ideal" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ideal" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "paragon" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ideal", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A perfect standard of beauty, intellect etc., or a standard of excellence to aim at.
"Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny - Carl Schurz"
- 2 the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain wordnet
- 3 A two-sided ideal; a subset of a ring which is closed under both left and right multiplication by elements of the ring.
"Let #92;mathbb#123;Z#125; be the ring of integers and let 2#92;mathbb#123;Z#125; be its ideal of even integers. Then the quotient ring #92;mathbb#123;Z#125;#47;2#92;mathbb#123;Z#125; is a Boolean ring."
- 4 model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal wordnet
- 5 A non-empty lower set (of a partially ordered set) which is closed under binary suprema (a.k.a. joins).
"1992, Unnamed translator, T. S. Fofanova, General Theory of Lattices, in Ordered Sets and Lattices II, American Mathematical Society, page 119, An ideal A of L is called complete if it contains all least upper bounds of its subsets that exist in L. Bishop and Schreiner [80] studied conditions under which joins of ideals in the lattices of all ideals and of all complete ideals coincide."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A collection of sets, considered small or negligible, such that every subset of each member and the union of any two members are also members of the collection.
"Formally, an ideal I of a given set X is a nonempty subset of the powerset #92;mathcal#123;P#125;(X) such that: (1)#92;#92;emptyset#92;inI, (2)#92;A#92;inI#92;andB#92;subseteqA#92;impliesB#92;inI and (3)#92;A,B#92;inI#92;impliesA#92;cupB#92;inI."
- 7 A Lie subalgebra (subspace that is closed under the Lie bracket) 𝖍 of a given Lie algebra 𝖌 such that the Lie bracket [𝖌,𝖍] is a subset of 𝖍.
"If 𝖌 is a Lie algebra, 𝖍 is an ideal and the Lie algebras 𝖍 and 𝖌/𝖍 are solvable, then 𝖌 is solvable."
- 8 A subsemigroup with the property that if any semigroup element outside of it is added to any one of its members, the result must lie outside of it.
"The set of natural numbers with multiplication as the monoid operation (instead of addition) has multiplicative ideals, such as, for example, the set {1, 3, 9, 27, 81, ...}. If any member of it is multiplied by a number which is not a power of 3 then the result will not be a power of three."
Adjective
- 1 Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea.
- 2 Existing only in the mind; conceptual, imaginary.
"The idea of ghosts is ridiculous in the extreme; and if you continue to be swayed by ideal terrors —"
- 3 Optimal; being the best possibility.
- 4 Perfect, flawless, having no defects.
"1751 April 13, Samuel Johnson, The Rambler, Number 112, reprinted in 1825, The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D., Volume 1, Jones & Company, page 194, There will always be a wide interval between practical and ideal excellence; […] ."
- 5 Teaching or relating to the doctrine of idealism.
"the ideal theory or philosophy"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Not actually present, but considered as present when limits at infinity are included.
"ideal point"
Adjective
- 1 constituting or existing only in the form of an idea or mental image or conception wordnet
- 2 conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection or excellence; embodying an ideal wordnet
- 3 of or relating to the philosophical doctrine of the reality of ideas wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A city in Georgia, United States.
- 2 An unincorporated community in Illinois.
- 3 An unincorporated community in South Dakota.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"We are haunted by an ideal life, and it is because we have within us the beginning and the possibility for it."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ideal"?
Common synonyms include: paragon, absolute, abstract, abstract principle, abstract value, abstruse.
How do you use "ideal" in a sentence?
We are haunted by an ideal life, and it is because we have within us the beginning and the possibility for it.
How do you pronounce "ideal"?
Pronounced /aɪˈdi(ə)l/.
Etymology
From French idéal, from Late Latin ideālis (“existing in idea”), by surface analysis, idea + -al, from Latin idea (“idea”); see idea. In mathematics, the noun ring theory sense was first introduced by German mathematician Richard Dedekind in his 1871 edition of a text on number theory. The concept was quickly expanded to ring theory and later generalised to order theory. The set theory and Lie theory senses can be regarded as applications of the order theory sense.