Ideal vs. Real: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on February 4, 2024
'Ideal' refers to a perfect or most suitable standard or concept, often hypothetical, while 'Real' pertains to what actually exists or happens, not imagined or supposed.
Key Differences
The word 'Ideal' relates to concepts, standards, or conditions considered perfect or most desirable, which may not always be attainable or practical. 'Real,' in contrast, refers to what exists in reality, encompassing actual events, objects, or experiences as they are, not as one might wish them to be.
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Jan 29, 2024
'Ideal' often embodies aspirations, goals, or benchmarks of excellence that serve as a guide or inspiration. It represents an optimized scenario. On the other hand, 'Real' encompasses the true state of affairs, grounded in factual existence or occurrence, which can be verified or experienced.
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Jan 29, 2024
The 'Ideal' is typically associated with a sense of perfection or an optimized condition free from flaws or defects. Conversely, 'Real' accepts the presence of imperfections and acknowledges the complexity and often the unpredictability of actual existence.
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Jan 29, 2024
'Ideal' is more abstract, representing concepts or qualities that are often theoretical or not physically tangible. 'Real,' however, is concrete and observable, relating to the physical world and its inherent realities.
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Jan 29, 2024
In a philosophical context, 'Ideal' pertains to theories and principles that envision a perfect model or scenario. 'Real,' in practical terms, aligns with empirical evidence, practicality, and the tangible aspects of life and existence.
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Jan 29, 2024
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Comparison Chart
Relation to Perfection
Represents perfection or optimal state
Represents actual state, with flaws
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Purpose
Serves as a guide or inspiration
Describes actual existence or event
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Application
Used in aspirational or idealistic contexts
Used in practical, real-world contexts
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Ideal and Real Definitions
Ideal
Representing the best possible standard.
The ideal candidate for the job will have five years of experience.
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Real
Existing or occurring in reality.
The real effects of climate change are visible now.
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Ideal
A scenario or condition that is most desirable.
An ideal vacation for me would be two weeks in Hawaii.
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Ideal
A principle or value regarded as perfectly desirable.
Justice is an ideal that many strive to achieve.
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Real
Physically existing or able to be touched.
The mountains in the distance looked surreal, but they were very real.
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Ideal
A conception of something in its absolute perfection
The ideal of national unity.
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Real
Being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verifiable existence
Real objects.
A real illness.
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Ideal
One that is regarded as a standard or model of perfection or excellence
The restaurant is considered the ideal in fine dining.
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Real
True and actual; not imaginary, alleged, or ideal
Real people, not ghosts.
A film based on real life.
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Ideal
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).
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Real
Of or founded on practical matters and concerns
A recent graduate experiencing the real world for the first time.
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Ideal
Conforming to a standard of perfection or excellence; perfect or highly satisfactory
An ideal work environment.
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Real
Genuine and authentic; not artificial or spurious
Real mink.
Real humility.
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Ideal
Existing only in the mind; imaginary
An ideal world where everything works out fine.
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Ideal
Lacking practicality or the possibility of realization
An ideal notion of how businesses are run.
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Real
Free of pretense, falsehood, or affectation
Tourists hoping for a real experience on the guided tour.
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Ideal
Existing as an archetype or pattern, especially as a Platonic idea or perception
The ideal forms.
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Real
(Philosophy) Existing objectively in the world regardless of subjectivity or conventions of thought or language.
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Real
Relating to, being, or having value reckoned by actual purchasing power
Real income.
Real growth.
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Real
(Physics) Of, relating to, or being an image formed by light rays that converge in space.
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Real
(Law) Of or relating to stationary or fixed property, such as buildings or land.
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Ideal
Teaching or relating to the doctrine of idealism.
The ideal theory or philosophy
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Ideal
(mathematics) Not actually present, but considered as present when limits at infinity are included.
Ideal point
An ideal triangle in the hyperbolic disk is one bounded by three geodesics that meet precisely on the circle.
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Real
A thing or whole having actual existence. Often used with the
Theories beyond the realm of the real.
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Ideal
A perfect standard of beauty, intellect etc., or a standard of excellence to aim at.
Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny - Carl Schurz
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Ideal
A subring closed under multiplication by its containing ring.
Let be the ring of integers and let be its ideal of even integers. Then the quotient ring is a Boolean ring.
The product of two ideals and is an ideal which is a subset of the intersection of and . This should help to understand why maximal ideals are prime ideals. Likewise, the union of and is a subset of .
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Ideal
A non-empty lower set (of a partially ordered set) which is closed under binary suprema (a.k.a. joins).
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Ideal
(set theory) A collection of sets, considered small or negligible, such that every subset of each member and the union of any two members are also members of the collection.
Formally, an ideal of a given set is a nonempty subset of the powerset such that: , and .
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Ideal
A Lie subalgebra (subspace that is closed under the Lie bracket) 𝖍 of a given Lie algebra 𝖌 such that the Lie bracket [𝖌,𝖍] is a subset of 𝖍.
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Ideal
(algebra) A subsemigroup with the property that if any semigroup element outside of it is added to any one of its members, the result must lie outside of it.
The set of natural numbers with multiplication as the monoid operation (instead of addition) has multiplicative ideals, such as, for example, the set {1, 3, 9, 27, 81, ...}. If any member of it is multiplied by a number which is not a power of 3 then the result will not be a power of three.
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Ideal
Existing in idea or thought; conceptional; intellectual; mental; as, ideal knowledge.
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Ideal
Reaching an imaginary standard of excellence; fit for a model; faultless; as, ideal beauty.
There will always be a wide interval between practical and ideal excellence.
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Real
Actually being, existing, or occurring; not fictitious or imaginary.
A description of real life
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Real
That has objective, physical existence.
No one has ever seen a real unicorn.
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Ideal
Teaching the doctrine of idealism; as, the ideal theory or philosophy.
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Real
(economics) Having been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation; measured in purchasing power contrast nominal.
My dad calculated my family's real consumption per month.
What is the real GNP of this polity?
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Real
(economics) Relating to the result of the actions of rational agents; relating to neoclassical economic models as opposed to Keynesian models.
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Ideal
A mental conception regarded as a standard of perfection; a model of excellence, beauty, etc.
The ideal is to be attained by selecting and assembling in one whole the beauties and perfections which are usually seen in different individuals, excluding everything defective or unseemly, so as to form a type or model of the species. Thus, the Apollo Belvedere is the ideal of the beauty and proportion of the human frame.
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Real
Being either a rational number, or the limit of a convergent infinite sequence of rational numbers: being one of a set of numbers with a one-to-one correspondence to the points on a line.
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Ideal
The idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain
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Real
(legal) Relating to immovable tangible property.
Real estate;
Real property
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Ideal
Conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection or excellence; embodying an ideal
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Real
(slang) Signifying meritorious qualities or actions especially as regard the enjoyment of life, prowess at sports, or success wooing potential partners.
I'm keeping it real.
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Ideal
Constituting or existing only in the form of an idea or mental image or conception;
A poem or essay may be typical of its period in idea or ideal content
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Ideal
A goal or objective pursued as the ultimate aim.
Achieving a balanced work-life is my ideal.
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Real
(grammar) One of the three genders that the common gender can be separated into in the Scandinavian languages.
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Ideal
A situation imagined as the best possible one.
In an ideal world, there would be no poverty.
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Real
A unit of currency used in Portugal and its colonies from 1430 until 1911, and in Brazil from 1790 until 1942.
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Real
A former small Spanish silver coin; also, a denomination of money of account, formerly the unit of the Spanish monetary system.
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Real
Actually being or existing; not fictitious or imaginary; as, a description of real life.
Whereat I waked, and foundBefore mine eyes all real, as the dreamHad lively shadowed.
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Real
True; genuine; not artificial, counterfeit, or factitious; often opposed to ostensible; as, the real reason; real Madeira wine; real ginger.
Whose perfection far excelledHers in all real dignity.
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Real
Relating to things, not to persons.
Many are perfect in men's humors that are not greatly capable of the real part of business.
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Real
Having an assignable arithmetical or numerical value or meaning; not imaginary.
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Real
Pertaining to things fixed, permanent, or immovable, as to lands and tenements; as, real property, in distinction from personal or movable property.
For he that but conceives a crime in thought,Contracts the danger of an actual fault.
Our simple ideas are all real; all agree to the reality of things.
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Real
Being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory;
Real objects
Real people; not ghosts
A film based on real life
A real illness
Real humility
Life is real! Life is earnest!
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Real
No less than what is stated; worthy of the name;
The real reason
Real war
A real friend
A real woman
Meat and potatoes--I call that a real meal
It's time he had a real job
It's no penny-ante job--he's making real money
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Real
Being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something;
Her actual motive
A literal solitude like a desert
A genuine dilemma
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Real
Not synthetic or spurious; of real or natural origin;
Real mink
True gold
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Real
Not to be taken lightly;
Statistics demonstrate that poverty and unemployment are very real problems
To the man sleeping regularly in doorways homelessness is real
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Real
Possible to be treated as fact;
Tangible evidence
His brief time as Prime Minister brought few real benefits to the poor
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Real
Being value measured in terms of purchasing power;
Real prices
Real income
Real wages
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Real
Having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary;
The substantial world
A mere dream, neither substantial nor practical
Most ponderous and substantial things
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Real
(of property) fixed or immovable;
Real property consists of land and buildings; real estate
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Real
Coinciding with reality;
Perceptual error...has a surprising resemblance to veridical perception
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Real
Founded on practical matters;
A recent graduate experiencing the real world for the first time
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Real
Used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal;
She was very gifted
He played very well
A really enjoyable evening
I'm real sorry about it
A rattling good yarn
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Real
Based on practical or factual circumstances.
We need to find a real solution to this problem.
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Real
A sincere or heartfelt experience or emotion.
Her joy at the news was real.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
How does 'ideal' differ from 'perfect'?
'Ideal' is a subjective concept of perfection, varying by individual or context.
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Jan 29, 2024
What is an 'ideal' situation?
An ideal situation is a hypothetical or desired scenario considered perfect.
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What does 'real' mean in everyday language?
In everyday language, real refers to what actually exists or happens.
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Jan 29, 2024
Can 'real' refer to authenticity?
Yes, like in 'real leather' or 'real emotions.'
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Jan 29, 2024
Can 'ideal' be achieved in reality?
While ideals are aspirational, they're not always achievable in the real world.
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Jan 29, 2024
Is 'real' always tangible?
Mostly, though it can also refer to genuine emotions or experiences.
Shumaila Saeed
Jan 29, 2024
Can something be both 'ideal' and 'real'?
Rarely, as ideals are often more aspirational than practical.
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Jan 29, 2024
How is 'real' used in science?
In science, real pertains to empirical evidence and observable facts.
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Jan 29, 2024
Is 'ideal' always positive?
Generally, though it can be unrealistic or impractical.
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Jan 29, 2024
Is 'real' used in philosophical contexts?
Yes, especially in discussions about reality and existence.
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Jan 29, 2024
Is 'ideal' a relative term?
Yes, as it varies based on individual perspectives and contexts.
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Jan 29, 2024
How does 'ideal' relate to goals?
Ideals often represent ultimate goals or standards.
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Jan 29, 2024
Can 'ideal' change over time?
Yes, as ideals can evolve with changing values and knowledge.
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Jan 29, 2024
Is 'real' used in legal contexts?
Yes, to refer to factual or legally recognized circumstances.
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Jan 29, 2024
How does 'ideal' influence decision-making?
Ideals can guide decisions by providing aspirational benchmarks.
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Jan 29, 2024
Is 'real' subjective or objective?
Real is more objective, based on factual existence.
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Jan 29, 2024
Can a theory be 'ideal'?
Yes, if it represents a conceptually perfect scenario.
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Jan 29, 2024
Does 'ideal' have a practical application?
It's more aspirational, though it can inspire practical efforts.
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Jan 29, 2024
How do artists use the term 'real'?
Artists use 'real' to refer to realism or authentic expression.
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Jan 29, 2024
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Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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