Antonyms for ideal
aɪˈdi əl, aɪˈdilide·al

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. idealnoun

   Antonyms:
   filter

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. ideal

   An ideal is that which is conceived or taken as the highest type of excellence or ultimate object of attainment. The archetype is the primal form, actual or imaginary, according to which any existing thing is constructed; the prototype has or has had actual existence; in the derived sense, as in metrology, a prototype may not be the original form, but one having equal authority with that as a standard. An ideal may be primal, or may be slowly developed even from failures and by negations; an ideal is meant to be perfect, not merely the thing that has been attained or is to be attained, but the best conceivable thing that could by possibility be attained. The artist's ideal is his own mental image, of which his finished work is but an imperfect expression. The original is the first specimen, good or bad; the original of a master is superior to all copies. The standard may be below the ideal. The ideal is imaginary, and ordinarily unattainable; the standard is concrete, and ordinarily attainable, being a measure to which all else of its kind must conform; as, the standard of weights and measures, of corn, or of cotton. The idea of virtue is the mental concept or image of virtue in general; the ideal of virtue is the mental concept or image of virtue in its highest conceivable perfection. Compare EXAMPLE; IDEA.

   Antonyms:
   accomplishment, achievement, act, action, attainment, development, doing, embodiment, execution, fact, incarnation, performance, practise, reality, realization

   Synonyms:
   archetype, idea, model, original, pattern, prototype, standard

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ideal

   Antonyms:
   physical, visible, material, tangible, historical, real, actual, palpable, substantial

   Synonyms:
   mental, notional, conceptional, intellectual, creative, spiritual, poetical, supposititious, fictitious, unreal, imaginary, chimerical, fanciful, imaginative

Matched Categories

1. • Idea

Princeton's WordNetRate these antonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. idealnoun

   the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain

   Antonyms:
   imperfect, concrete

   Synonyms:
   nonpareil, nonsuch, nonesuch, apotheosis, saint, paragon

2. ideal, paragon, nonpareil, saint, apotheosis, nonesuch, nonsuchadjective

   model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal

   Antonyms:
   imperfect, concrete

   Synonyms:
   nonsuch, deification, saint, perfection, apotheosis, exaltation, holy man, idol, angel, nonpareil, paragon, nonesuch, holy person, beau ideal

3. idealadjective

   conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection or excellence; embodying an ideal

   Antonyms:
   imperfect, concrete

   Synonyms:
   idealistic

4. idealadjective

   constituting or existing only in the form of an idea or mental image or conception

   "a poem or essay may be typical of its period in idea or ideal content"

   Antonyms:
   imperfect, concrete

   Synonyms:
   idealistic

5. ideal, idealisticadjective

   of or relating to the philosophical doctrine of the reality of ideas

   Antonyms:
   concrete, imperfect

   Synonyms:
   idealistic, rarified, noble-minded, elevated, lofty, exalted, sublime, rarefied, high-minded, high-flown, grand

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. idealadjective

   Synonyms:
   faultless, consummate, perfect

How to use ideal in a sentence?

1. Olive Schreiner:

   Now we have no God. We have had two: the old God that our fathers handed down to us, that we hated, and never liked; the new one that we made for ourselves, that we loved; but now he has flitted away from us, and we see what he was made of -- the shadow of our highest ideal, crowned and throned. Now we have no God.

2. Scott Pruitt:

   Do we know what the ideal surface temperature should be in the year 2100 or year 2018? it’s fairly arrogant for us to think we know exactly what it should be in 2100.

3. Orison Swett Marden:

   We lift ourselves by our thought, we climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always, everywhere - your ideal of what you long to attain - the ideal of health, efficiency, success.

4. Community Chest CEO Lorenzo Davids:

   Getting into green or solar technology is the ideal platform to ensure we give our people low-cost and sustainable resources so they can develop the economy for themselves.

5. Claude M. Bristol:

   The person with a fixed goal, a clear picture of his desire, or an ideal always before him, causes it, through repetition, to be buried deeply in his subconscious mind and is thus enabled, thanks to its generative and sustaining power, to realize his goal in a minimum of time and with a minimum of physical effort. Just pursue the thought unceasingly. Step by step you will achieve realization, for all your faculties and powers become directed to that end.

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