IDEAL • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Ideal

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/aɪdˈil/ Listen

adjective

Ideal adj.

Existing in idea or thought; conceptional; intellectual; mental; as, ideal knowledge.

Reaching an imaginary standard of excellence; fit for a model; faultless; as, ideal beauty. "There will always be a wide interval between practical and ideal excellence."

Existing in fancy or imagination only; visionary; unreal. "Planning ideal common wealth."

Teaching the doctrine of idealism; as, the ideal theory or philosophy.

(Math.) Imaginary.

Synonyms: Intellectual; mental; visionary; fanciful; imaginary; unreal; impracticable; utopian.

noun

Ideal n. A mental conception regarded as a standard of perfection; a model of excellence, beauty, etc. "The ideal is to be attained by selecting and assembling in one whole the beauties and perfections which are usually seen in different individuals, excluding everything defective or unseemly, so as to form a type or model of the species. Thus, the Apollo Belvedere is the ideal of the beauty and proportion of the human frame."

Beau ideal. See Beau ideal.

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Etymology of 'Ideal'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Ideal" Quotes from Famous Books

... My extraordinary companion, who gave himself out to be the humble attendant of the richest individual in the world, was remarkable for his dexterity; in short, his singular address and promptitude admirably fitted him to be the very beau ideal of a rich man's lacquey. But he never stirred from my side, and tormented me with constant assurances that a day would most certainly come when, if it were only to get rid of him, I should gladly comply with his ...

— Stories by Foreign Authors: German (V.2) • Various

... information concerning the Bahama Islands, the Caribbean Sea, and the island of Cuba. Of the finest and most extensive culture, Mr. Ballou is the ideal traveler.—Boston Traveller. ...

— Aztec Land • Maturin M. Ballou

... out of all the monopolies which he concedes or tolerates; it is, as we have said, the indemnity of the poor, the permit granted to property. Such was the form and spirit of the tax in all the old monarchies: feudalism was its beau ideal. Under that regime the tax was only a TRIBUTE paid by the holder to the universal proprietor or ...

— The Philosophy of Misery • Joseph-Pierre Proudhon

... my ideal?" Mr. Linden said with a smile, and softly bringing her face round again. "Faith, do you know what a dear little 'minister's wife' you will make?—Mignonette is so suitable for a parsonage!—so well calculated to impress the people with a notion of the extreme ...

— Say and Seal, Volume II • Susan Warner

... Watchman, you know, sub-editor. I took an article from him the other day—article on 'Ideal Sites for Campers-Out.' He came to the office about it. So this was in the dead ...

— The Middle Temple Murder • J.S. Fletcher

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