beau idéal

/ˈboʊ aɪˈdiːl//-i.deɪˈæl//-i.diˈæl/

noun

Ideal excellence, or an imaginary standard of perfection.

OriginFrench beau idéal ← ['fr ', →
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Meanings

nounbeau idéal (plural beaux idéals)

plural beaux idéals

  1. Ideal excellence, or an imaginary standard of perfection.

    I never knew any debatable point not maintained on both sides by unanswerable arguments; and yet you are angry that he has not thrown every advantage aside to enact your beau-idéal of patriotic excellence.

    1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 312
  2. An emulable eidolon embodying excellence in a particular respect.

Origin

  1. ['fr',
  2. Frenchbeau idéal
  3. Englishbeau idéal

Borrowed from French beau idéal.

More words from French, ['fr

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

beau idéal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beau%20id%C3%A9al

MLA

“beau idéal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beau%20id%C3%A9al. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beau idéal,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beau%20id%C3%A9al.

Source: beau idéal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.