ideally
/aɪˈdi.ə.li/adverb
ideally is spelled I-D-E-A-L-L-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, ideally means “In an ideal way; perfectly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ideally?
| Letters | 7: I-D-E-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.6 times per million words; the 10,358th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ideally?
Ideally appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ideally?
- UK /aɪˈdɪə.li/
- US /aɪˈdi.ə.li/
Ideally has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ideally.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ideally
- more ideally comparative
- most ideally superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ideally mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In an ideal way; perfectly.
- 2
Given ideal circumstances; preferably.
Ideally, we would have one textbook per student, but unfortunately some of you will have to share.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ideally in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense preferably:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | idéalement |
| German | idealerweise |
| Spanish | idealmente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ideally come from?
From ideal + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).