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archetypal

American  
[ahr-ki-tahy-puhl] / ˌɑr kɪˈtaɪ pəl /
Sometimes archetypical

adjective

  1. of or having the nature of an archetype, or original model or prototype.

    an archetypal evil stepmother.

Etymology

Origin of archetypal

archetyp(e) + -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Elsewhere, Katie Leung plays the archetypal wicked stepmother role, Lady Araminta Gun, a newcomer to Mayfair.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

And the sets are these massive archetypal Jungian visions that feel very much like they’re part of his inner conscious, his subconscious, and not so much objective reality.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

At first glance, Maia seems like a girlboss-in-training, a “nesting doll” of Alyssa, the archetypal Millennial girlboss.

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2025

Doctorow novel, which depicts the intersecting lives of archetypal fictional characters from vastly different backgrounds, as well as historical figures.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

The shadowshapers’ mythology revolves around an archetypal spirit named Lucera, who apparently vanished mysteriously a few months back, not long after I entered the fold.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.