ideal
ideal
/aɪˈdiːəl/
1 perfect; most suitable
an ideal location/place
ideal for somebody/something This beach is ideal for children.
She's the ideal candidate for the job.
The trip to Paris will be an ideal opportunity to practise my French.
The prime minister admitted the current situation was ‘not ideal’ (= was bad).
It was not the ideal solution to the problem.
Harvesting is being done in less than ideal conditions.
The hotel's size makes it ideal for large conferences.
The houses are absolutely ideal for families with young children.
As a solution to the problem it was far from ideal.
His apartment would be an ideal place to stay.
This job would be absolutely ideal for someone with an interest in local history.
Collocations
verbs
adverb
preposition
for
2 only before noun existing only in your imagination or as an idea; not likely to be real the search for ideal love
Idioms
ideal
/aɪˈdiːəl/
1 countable an idea or standard that seems perfect, and worth trying to achieve or obtain He was accused of betraying his political ideals.
She found it hard to live up to his high ideals.
advancing the ideals of freedom and democracy
A journalist should always live up to the ideals of truth, decency and justice.
Platonic ideals of beauty
Sam was a real leader who had high moral ideals.
They still clung to the old ideals.
This is not an unattainable ideal.
We obviously share the same ideals.
romantic ideals of motherhood
the democratic ideals embodied in the charter
Democratic ideals include the principle that everyone should have a say in how they are governed.
Is true love an unattainable ideal?
Collocations
adjective
verb + ideal
be committed to
believe incling to…
It's my ideal of what a family home should be.
This agreement falls far short of the ideal.
Word Origin
late Middle English (as a term in Platonic philosophy, in the sense ‘existing as an archetype’): from late Latin idealis, via Latin from Greek idea ‘form, pattern’, from the base of idein ‘to see’.
e.g.