IDE'AL, adjective Existing in idea; intellectual; mental; as ideal knowledge. There will always be a wide interval between practical and ideal excellence. 1. Visionary; existing in fancy or imagination only; as ideal good. 2. That considers ideas as images, phantasms, or forms in the mind; as the ideal theory or philosophy.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI