IDEAL
What does "IDEAL" mean?
A standard of perfection; or, as an adjective, perfectly suitable.
Meanings
- A principle or standard of perfection that one aims toward. She never abandoned her ideals, even when they cost her work.
- A person or thing regarded as a perfect model. For many runners, that marathon time is the ideal.
- Most suitable or perfect for a purpose. The quiet cabin was an ideal place to write.
Did you know?
- 'Ideal' traces straight back to Plato's Greek 'idea' - his name for the perfect, eternal Forms that real-world objects only imitate, which is why an ideal still means a perfection nothing quite reaches.
Word origin
From Late Latin 'idealis' (existing as an idea), from Latin 'idea' (a notion, form), borrowed from Greek 'idea' (form, pattern) - so an ideal is, at root, a thing existing first as a perfect form in the mind.
Remember it
An IDEAL is an IDEA with an L for 'lofty' - a thought raised to its highest, perfect form.
A little poem
We chase the perfect line we cannot draw,
and miss it cleanly, every honest time -
yet aim there still: the missing keeps us straight.
tercet
Wordplay
- My ideal job is to be paid for having ideas. So far the only one who'll fund it is me, and I'm broke.
What it teaches
An ideal is not meant to be reached but to be steered by - the horizon you never touch is what keeps you walking straight.
Quick facts
What does IDEAL mean?
A standard of perfection; or, as an adjective, perfectly suitable.
Is IDEAL a valid word?
Yes — IDEAL is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is IDEAL?
IDEAL has 5 letters and 3 syllables.
Where does IDEAL come from?
From Late Latin 'idealis' (existing as an idea), from Latin 'idea' (a notion, form), borrowed from Greek 'idea' (form, pattern) - so an ideal is, at root, a thing existing first as a perfect form in the mind.
What can IDEAL teach us?
An ideal is not meant to be reached but to be steered by - the horizon you never touch is what keeps you walking straight.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.