adj. & n.
adj. 1 a answering to one's highest conception. b perfect or supremely excellent. 2 a existing only in idea. b visionary. 3 embodying an idea. 4 relating to or consisting of ideas; dependent on the mind.
n. 1 a perfect type, or a conception of this. 2 an actual thing as a standard for imitation. ideal gas a hypothetical gas consisting of molecules occupying negligible space and without attraction for each other, thereby obeying simple laws. ideally adv.
[ ME f. F idéal f. LL idealis (as IDEA) ]