adj 1  :  existing as an archetypal idea  2 a  :  existing as a mental image or in fancy or imagination only  b  :  relating to or constituting mental images, ideas, or conceptions
n :  a standard of perfection, beauty, or excellence <self-criticism and the formation of sare … the essential manifestations of the superego -G. S. Blum>  <is merely a cultural … and not the actual pattern of behavior -Weston La Barre>  .
 
   
 
Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.  © 1997-2024.