idyll, idyllic, or ideal?
Do not confuse idyll and idyllic with the noun and adjective ideal. Idyll and idyllic are narrower in meaning, referring to carefree happiness, unspoiled beauty, and serenity, as in a pastoral idyll or an idyllic way to spend a summer afternoon. Ideal refers to perfection, or to being the best in every respect, as in the ideal of beauty or the ideal way to tackle the problem. An idyllic setting for a hotel, perhaps in the middle of the countryside, is not necessarily ideal; an ideal setting for a hotel, perhaps near a major airport, may be far from idyllic. Note that the title of Tennyson's Idylls of the King, a set of poems about Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot, does not refer to the ideals of the Knights of the Round Table.
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