beau ideal

1 someone of such unequaled perfection as to deserve imitation she is the beau ideal of the beautiful but unassuming film actress Synonyms ideal, classic, eidolon, exemplar, idea, model, nonesuch, nonpareil, paragon, patron saintRelated Words role model; embodiment, epitome, incarnation, manifestation, personification, phantom, pink; archetype, example, mirror, paradigm, pattern; guideline, principle, rule; gauge (also gage), standard, touchstone; essence, quintessence; acme, apex, apotheosis, culmination, peak, pinnacle, summit, zenith

2 the most perfect type or example Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous architectural creation, Falling Water, is widely regarded as the beau ideal of a building in harmony with its setting Synonyms acme, apotheosis, quintessence, byword, classic, epitome, exemplar, ideal, perfectionRelated Words archetype, model, prototype; paradigm, standard; nonpareil, paragon; abstract, avatar, embodier, embodiment, incarnation, incorporation, manifestation, personification; height, last word, meridian, ultimate, zenith; benchmark, criterion, touchstone, yardstick