Ideal

How to spell ideal

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce ideal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ideal mean?

1. adjectiveMost suitable or perfect for a particular purpose.
2. nounA standard of perfection or a principle worth striving for.

Ideal in a sentence

• adjective

  The quiet cabin was an ideal place to finish writing the report.

• noun

  The charity was founded on the ideal of equal access to education.

• adjective

  Early spring offers ideal conditions for planting the new hedge.

• noun

  Reality rarely matches the ideal we imagine in our heads.

Where does ideal come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word ultimately rests on the Greek idea, meaning a 'form', 'pattern', or 'visible appearance', the same root behind 'idea' itself; in Plato's philosophy the idea was the perfect, unchanging form behind every imperfect physical thing. Late Latin took this up as idealis, meaning 'existing as a mental form or archetype'. English borrowed the word through French ideal in the early 1600s, at first in the technical sense of something existing only in the mind rather than in reality. From that 'perfect mental pattern' sense it naturally drifted to mean 'the best possible' or 'most suitable', which is how most people use it today. The spelling keeps the bare 'ide-' of 'idea' followed by '-al', so the trap is remembering the single 'e' and resisting any urge to insert a stray letter.

How the word is built

• ide- (from Greek idea: form, pattern)
• -al (adjective/noun suffix meaning 'relating to')