I*de"al (?), a. [L. idealis: cf.
F. idéal.] 1. Existing in idea or
thought; conceptional; intellectual; mental; as, ideal
knowledge.
2. Reaching an imaginary standard of
excellence; fit for a model; faultless; as, ideal
beauty. Byron.
There will always be a wide interval between practical
and ideal excellence.
Rambler.
3. Existing in fancy or imagination only;
visionary; unreal. "Planning ideal common wealth."
Southey.
4. Teaching the doctrine of idealism; as, the
ideal theory or philosophy.
5. (Math.) Imaginary.
Syn. -- Intellectual; mental; visionary; fanciful;
imaginary; unreal; impracticable; utopian.
I*de"al (?), 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.
Fleming.
Beau ideal. See Beau ideal.