# idealism vs ideals

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### idealism
*noun · IPA /ʌɪˈdɪəlɪz(ə)m/ · frequency rank #25,419*
The property of a person of having high ideals that are usually unrealizable or at odds with practical life.

### ideals
*noun · IPA /aɪˈdi.əlz/ · frequency rank #9,905*
plural of ideal

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idealism-vs-ideals