neoclassic

or ne·o-clas·sic

[ nee-oh-klas-ik ]

adjective

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) belonging or pertaining to a revival of classic styles or something that is held to resemble classic styles, as in art, literature, music, or architecture.
2. (usually initial capital letter) Fine Arts. of, relating to, or designating a style of painting and sculpture developed principally from the mid-18th through the mid-19th centuries, characterized chiefly by an iconography derived from classical antiquity, a hierarchical conception of subject matter, severity of composition and, especially in painting, by an oblique lighting of forms in the early phase and a strict linear quality in the later phase of the style.
3. Architecture. of, relating to, or designating neoclassicism.
4. (sometimes initial capital letter) Literature. of, relating to, or designating a style of poetry or prose, developed chiefly in the 17th and 18th centuries, rigidly adhering to canons of form that were derived mainly from classical antiquity, that were exemplified by decorum of style or diction, the three unities, etc., and that emphasized an impersonal expression of universal truths as shown in human actions, representing them principally in satiric and didactic modes.

Other Words From

• neo·classi·cist neo-classi·cist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of neoclassic¹

First recorded in 1875–80; neo- + classic

Example Sentences

The tale shows de Vil’s rise from scrubbing floors to rising fashion star and then, a car thief, hot-wiring a stolen neoclassic luxury car and skidding through the streets of London.

From Washington Post

The engraved decoration of intersecting lines is typical of the neoclassic style.

From Project Gutenberg

Neoclassic, its casa principal (main house) and chapel form an L, and fronting the L is a grove of palms.

From Project Gutenberg

I shall attempt no special pleading for Ogilvie here; he is and shall remain a minor neoclassic theorist.

From Project Gutenberg

Hence he reflected the virtues of neoclassic perspicuity and correctness.

From Project Gutenberg