ideally

ideally

English

Etymology

From ideal +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ʌɪˈdɪəli/

• Audio (southern England)

  (file)

Adverb

ideally (comparative more ideally, superlative most ideally)

1. In an ideal way; perfectly. [from 18th c.]
   • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society 2011, p. 46:

     The summit of Mauna Kea is considered the ideal place to mount an astronomical observatory, for above the clouds there is only the stars and the skies are ideally transparent.

2. Given ideal circumstances; preferably. [from 19th c.]

   Ideally, we would have one textbook per student, but unfortunately some of you will have to share.

Synonyms

• in an ideal world

Antonyms

• nonideally

Translations

preferably

Catalan: idealment (ca) Czech: ideálně Finnish: ihanteellisesti (fi) French: idéalement (fr) German: idealerweise (de) Italian: idealmente (it), preferibilmente (it) Polish: doskonale (pl), idealnie (pl) Romanian: ideal (ro), în mod ideal Serbo-Croatian: idealno (sh), идеално Spanish: idealmente (es)