ideals

noun

plural of ideal
1
as in ideas
someone of such unequaled perfection as to deserve imitation she's our ideal of the concerned, caring physician

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in perfections
the most perfect type or example the Taj Mahal in India is generally regarded as the ideal of Mogul architectural beauty

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in goals
something that one hopes or intends to accomplish his ideal is to make enough money so that he can retire at 50

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ideals During their reign in Hollywood’s Golden Age, their lives and cinematic work played out ideals about femininity and its expectations in American culture writ large. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026 In other parts of the West, officials have rethought their green and grassy ideals, such as in Nevada in 2021 where lawmakers banned decorative grass. — Idaho Statesman, 23 Aug. 2026 Phillips-Fein recently talked to CNN about how those ideals have eroded in recent years and why some working- class and poor people embrace the belief that extreme inequality is good for America. — John Blake, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026 The film examines how these children of Black Panther Party leaders – now adults – maintain the ideals and purpose of the movement when, as the title suggests, the revolution didn’t come as their parents had hoped. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2026 But the two events also include aspects distant from ideals championed by the nation’s Founding Fathers, critics say. — Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026 Students converge on Morningside Heights because the university distills — and instills — the ideals of an open, democratic, pluralistic nation. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 19 Aug. 2026 True, Francesca Hong hates America, Thanksgiving and most national holidays, and is anti-Israel and anything slanted to the true American ideals that made our country great. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026 And the Nazis themselves had pan-European ideals, albeit under the firm rule of the Herrenvolk. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ideals
  1. ideas
  2. perfections
  3. goals
  4. models
  5. classics
  6. purposes
  7. examples
  8. manifestations
Noun
  • Trying to fit Hinduism into Western categories of theisms diverges from the tradition’s diverse history of ideas while mixing internal understandings with European perspectives and categories.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Algorithms can be implemented in different programming languages, in much the same way that ideas can be expressed in English, Mandarin, or Arabic.
    — Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of ideas
Noun
  • The collection is built around a fascination of the forest, its mystery, beauty, and the sublime forces of nature, its perfections and imperfections.
    — Felicity Carter, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of perfections
Noun
  • The Sun conjoins Mercury in Virgo and your 10th House of Career, Reputation, Authority, and Public Life, helping your goals become easier to explain.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Sanchez also had a pair of goals in the Courage’s 2-1 victory over the Boston Legacy on Saturday.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of goals
Noun
  • OpenAI's choice to end developers' access to its models via Cursor is not a first in the industry.
    — Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026
  • This is why the results from the MHS research preview and Anthropic’s frontier AI models are so meaningful.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of models
Noun
  • Check the leading management bestsellers and textbooks, including Gary Hamel’s Humanocracy, Eric Ries’s Incorruptible, Stephen Robbins and Mary Coulter’s Management and older classics like Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The brainchild of Albert Kanter, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, these comic-book versions of the classics sold over 100 million copies and were distributed by 25,000 school districts.
    — Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of classics
Noun
  • Anthropic wanted assurance that its technology would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance, and the DOD wanted Anthropic to grant the agency unfettered access to Claude across all lawful purposes.
    — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Governments generally don’t need a model that’s as powerful as what’s on the frontier to automate a few tasks; Ting explains that a tiny model, even one with as few as 1 billion parameters, can suit those purposes.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of purposes
Noun
  • Silvester’s concept became the Falcon Study, a new interpretation of the original developed by his San Diego start-up Q7 Yacht Designs, with naval architecture by Dutch firm Dykstra, known for its work on the series of nascent J-Class examples.
    — Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 30 Aug. 2026
  • There are already examples in other sports of athletes moving between professional and college systems without producing the same alarm.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of examples
Noun
  • Many Hindus today identify as Shaivas, Vaishnavas, or Shaktas, sectarian groups that, respectively, worship Shiva, Vishnu, or Shakti as supreme, with all other deities considered as manifestations or subordinates.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Pursued by monstrous entities and confronted by manifestations of human suffering, Dante and Virgil will eventually come face to face with the Devil himself.
    — Ed Meza, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of manifestations

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Cite this Entry

“Ideals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ideals. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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