Synonyms of ideals

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

• ideas
• models
• examples
• incarnations
• manifestations
• patron saints
• pinnacles
• paragons
• exemplars
• classics
• standards
• nonpareils
• principles
• beau ideals
• paradigms
• mirrors
• essences
• eidolons
• nonesuches
• guidelines
• phantoms
• role models
• personifications
• pinks
• archetypes
• touchstones
• rules
• embodiments
• epitomes
• culminations
• summits
• patterns
• zeniths
• gauges
• apexes
• peaks
• apotheoses
• acmes
• quintessences

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

• perfections
• classics
• manifestations
• models
• standards
• incarnations
• exemplars
• paradigms
• bywords
• epitomes
• beau ideals
• prototypes
• heights
• apotheoses
• zeniths
• acmes
• avatars
• archetypes
• benchmarks
• quintessences
• ultimates
• criteria
• incorporations
• paragons
• personifications
• abstracts
• touchstones
• last words
• meridians
• embodiments
• nonpareils
• yardsticks
• embodiers

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• goals
• purposes
• plans
• ideas
• intentions
• objectives
• aims
• ambitions
• intents
• dreams
• objects
• aspirations
• things
• meanings
• pretensions
• designs
• targets
• points
• ends
• hopes
• projects
• desires
• marks
• wishes
• bournes
• minds
• schemes
• plots
• destinations
• holy grails
• grails
• nirvanas
• termini

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• methods
• means
• ways

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ideals

But those ideals block the play from being fully honest—by letting ugliness stick around. — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026

The difference in ideals from reality is captured in the speeches that Romanzy and then Laura in a last minute substitution for Mary make at Founder’s Day, describing the town. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 9 July 2026

Trump, unburdened by ideals, has looked at the same history and consciously chosen to mimic its worst elements. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Caught between two opposing cultures, drawing on a cache of letters, documents, and remembrances, Ferrer meticulously recounts the travails of one migrant family and a punitive legal system that dogged them, skewering ideals of equity and fairness. — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026

The author concludes by urging Americans not to confuse current challenges with a fundamental decline, advocating for faith in the nation's enduring ideals. — Frank Holmes, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Is this a permanent shift in men’s body ideals that the industry needs to account for? — Lucy Maguire, Vogue, 6 July 2026

America, whose Constitution was formulated by white men, struggled to live up to its founding ideals in the days of slavery and displacement of Native Americans. — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 3 July 2026

Transplants from the British Isles In 1776, as the nation’s founding generation proclaimed democratic ideals, music in the emerging United States consisted largely of British ballads, fiddle tunes, sea chanteys and hymns. — Ted Olson, The Conversation, 2 July 2026