Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ideally

/aɪˈdi.ə.li/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.75 in modern English

Syllables: ide-al-ly
IPA: /aɪˈdi.ə.li/

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

In an ideal way; perfectly.

adv

Given ideal circumstances; preferably.

Example Sentences

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

Etymology

Etymology tree English ideal Middle English -ly English -ly English ideally From ideal + -ly.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /aɪˈdi.ə.li/
British English: /aɪˈdɪə.li/

Inflected Forms

more ideally (comparative) most ideally (superlative)

Synonyms

in an ideal world

Antonyms

nonideally

Rhymes With

freely healy healey swahili greeley steely seeley neely feely keeley demille mealy

Questions

How do you pronounce ideally?: The recorded pronunciation is /aɪˈdi.ə.li/.
What does ideally mean?: In an ideal way; perfectly.
Where does ideally come from?: Etymology tree English ideal Middle English -ly English -ly English ideally From ideal + -ly.

How to pronounce ideally

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ideally”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/aɪˈdi.ə.li/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ideally”.
Repeat and practice — Say “ideally” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.