ideally

adverb

ide·al·ly | \ ī-ˈdē-ə-lē

How to pronounce ideally (audio)

, -ˈdē(-ə)l-lē\

Definition of ideally

1 : in idea or imagination : mentally

2 : in relation to an exemplar

3a : conformably to or in respect to an ideal : perfectly

b : for best results ideally, the counselor should vary his techniques for each applicant— T. M. Martinez

c : in accordance with an ideal or typical standard : classically

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about ideally

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Examples of ideally in a Sentence

His skills made him ideally suited for the job. They were ideally suited to one another. The ski slope was situated ideally.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ruthie Foster Friday, June 22, at Frontier Park The unfussy music of Ruthie Foster is ideally suited to the homey atmosphere associated with a free concert in a park. — Bill Brownlee, kansascity, "KC concerts June 21-27: Macklemore & Kesha; Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle & Dwight Yoakam," 19 June 2018 Sweet Woodruff, is one of the few fragrant plants ideally suited as a ground cover. — Earl Nickel, SFChronicle.com, "Sweet Woodruff makes an excellent ground cover in shade," 8 June 2018 The Met could be ideally suited for young acts such as Lana Del Rey, Arcade Fire, and Lorde, who have recently played to half-full houses at the Wells Fargo Center but who could easily sell out a 3,500-seat venue. — Dan Deluca, Philly.com, "The Met: Former North Broad opera house will open as new concert venue in December," 22 May 2018 Alarm Will Sound’s versatility and commitment to stylistic diversity ideally suited Mr. Marks , whose work as a composer showed similar range. — Steve Smith, BostonGlobe.com, "Matt Marks, cutting-edge composer and musician," 17 May 2018 In fact, the bedroom should ideally contain just the things that contribute to sound sleep, like comfortable bedding, blackout shades, and white noise machines. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "The Right Way to Clean Your Bedroom So You Can Sleep Better Than Ever," 14 Mar. 2019 Kokoskov’s international coaching experience and preference for a free-flowing, multiple-option offense should ideally suit Bender. — Scott Bordow, azcentral, "Five items on Suns coach Igor Kokoskov's to-do list," 13 May 2018 In the future, ideally all clothes would be at least partially recyclable, but that will heavily depend on designers and manufacturers. — Emily Farra, Vogue, "Did Marie Kondo Inspire You to Clean Out Your Closet This Weekend? Here Are the 5 Best Ways to Do It," 18 Jan. 2019 Men such as Brent may enjoy being forced to lick and smell feet, ideally ones that are stinky and sweaty. — Sophie Saint Thomas, Allure, "Everything You've Wanted to Know About Foot Fetishes, But Were Afraid to Ask," 17 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ideally.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near ideally

Statistics for ideally

Last Updated

3 Apr 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for ideally

The first known use of ideally was in 1598

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More Definitions for ideally

ideally

adverb

English Language Learners Definition of ideally

: in an ideal way

—used to say what should happen or be done to produce the best results

See the full definition for ideally in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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