Victorian
of or relating to Queen Victoria or the period of her reign: Victorian poets.
having the characteristics usually attributed to the Victorians, especially prudishness and observance of the conventionalities.
Architecture.
noting or pertaining to the architecture, furnishings, and decoration of English-speaking countries between c1840 and c1900, characterized by rapid changes of style as a consequence of aesthetic and philosophical controversy, technological innovations, and changes of fashion, by the frequent presence of ostentatious ornament, and by an overall trend from classicism at the start to romanticism and eclecticism at the middle of the period and thence to classicism again, with attempts at stylistic innovation occurring from time to time.
noting or pertaining to the massive, elaborate work characteristic especially of the period c1855–80, derived mainly from the Baroque and Gothic styles and characterized by the presence of heavy carved ornament, elaborate moldings, etc., by the use of strong and generally dark colors, by the frequent use of dark varnished woodwork, by the emphasis on geometrical form rather than on textural effects, and frequently by an effect of harshness.
a person who lived during the Victorian period.
a house in or imitative of the Victorian style.
Origin of Victorian
1Other words for Victorian
| 2 | prudish, conventional, priggish, straightlaced, smug, prim, narrow |
Other words from Victorian
- post-Vic·to·ri·an, adjective
- pre-Vic·to·ri·an, adjective
- pseu·do-Vic·to·ri·an, adjective, noun
- un-Vic·to·ri·an, adjective
Words Nearby Victorian
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Victorian in a sentence
The Industrial Revolution and Victorian practically erased the holiday in England.
To him, Churchill “was radical precisely because he was conservative” and “essentially a buccaneering Victorian Whig.”
According to Wynd, “Freddie Mercury once said he wanted to lead a Victorian life surrounded by exquisite clutter.”
Dodo Bones and Kylie’s Poo: Inside London’s Strangest New Museum | Liza Foreman | November 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA Victorian-style couch now stands in the spot where Mr. Borden was killed while he napped.
Would You Stay in Lizzie Borden’s Ax-Murder House? | Nina Strochlic | October 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYour Victorian lesbians were sexy, vocal, recognizable, and radical too, I say.
Sarah Waters: Queen of the Tortured Lesbian Romance | Tim Teeman | September 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It was a room without beauty, merely walls, repapered once every twenty years, and furniture of the mid-Victorian era.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le QueuxNow death by the mid-Victorian was considered almost as undesirable an element in society as sex itself.
The Letters of Ambrose Bierce | Ambrose BierceBut to Bierce's mind, "noble and nude and antique," this mid-Victorian draping and bedecking of "unpleasant truths" was abhorrent.
The Letters of Ambrose Bierce | Ambrose BierceBad puns were evidently common on the stage before the days of Victorian burlesque.
Witch, Warlock, and Magician | William Henry Davenport AdamsBefore morning the Victorian would be running up the St. Lawrence.
The Highgrader | William MacLeod Raine
British Dictionary definitions for Victorian
/ (vɪkˈtɔːrɪən) /
of, relating to, or characteristic of Queen Victoria or the period of her reign
exhibiting the characteristics popularly attributed to the Victorians, esp prudery, bigotry, or hypocrisy: Compare Victorian values
denoting, relating to, or having the style of architecture used in Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria, characterized by massive construction and elaborate ornamentation
of or relating to Victoria (the state or any of the cities)
a person who lived during the reign of Queen Victoria
an inhabitant of Victoria (the state or any of the cities)
Derived forms of Victorian
- Victorianism, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Victorian
A descriptive term for the time when Victoria was queen of England, from 1837 to 1901. The Victorian period in England is known as a time of industrial progress, colonial expansion, and public fastidiousness in morals. The Victorian period in the United States had many of the same characteristics.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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