use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

i·de·al (ī-dēəl, ī-dēl)
Share:
n.
1. A conception of something in its absolute perfection: the ideal of national unity.
2. One that is regarded as a standard or model of perfection or excellence: The restaurant is considered the ideal in fine dining.
3. An ultimate or worthy object of endeavor; a goal: "those who regarded even a rhetorical commitment to the ideal of disarmament as irresponsibly utopian" (James Carroll).
adj.
1. Conforming to a standard of perfection or excellence; perfect or highly satisfactory: an ideal work environment.
2.
a. Existing only in the mind; imaginary: an ideal world where everything works out fine.
b. Lacking practicality or the possibility of realization: an ideal notion of how businesses are run.
3. Philosophy
a. Existing as an archetype or pattern, especially as a Platonic idea or perception: the ideal forms.
b. Of or relating to idealism.

[From Middle English, pertaining to the divine archetypes of things, from Late Latin ideālis, from Latin idea, idea; see IDEA.]

Synonyms: ideal, exemplar, model, standard, pattern
These nouns refer to someone or something worthy of imitation or duplication. An ideal represents a sometimes unattainable level of perfection: "Comic book heroes played a major part in shaping my boyhood ideal of manliness" (Theodore Roszak).
An exemplar, like a model, serves as a worthy example by being the best or most admirable of its class: "He is indeed the perfect exemplar of all nobleness" (Jane Porter)."Our fellow countryman is a model of a man" (Charles Dickens).
A standard is a basis of comparison or judgment: "Alexander's conquests created a legend that would provide the standard by which other leaders measured their careers" (Eugene N. Borza).
A pattern is an example worthy of imitation by reason of being an original or essential form of something: "I will be the pattern of all patience" (Shakespeare).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.