In an ___ world ...

IDEAL

Think of a word that describes a perfect or flawless scenario, often used when imagining the best possible version of something. It starts with the same letter as "imaginary."

This clue plays on the common phrase "In an ideal world," which people say when imagining a perfect or best-case scenario. The blank is filled with "ideal" because it directly completes the well-known expression. There’s no hidden wordplay—it’s a straightforward reference to how we talk about hypothetical, flawless situations. If you’ve ever heard someone say, "In an ideal world, everything would be easy," the answer clicks right into place.