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Synonyms

historical

American  
[hi-stawr-i-kuhl, -stor-] / hɪˈstɔr ɪ kəl, -ˈstɒr- /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events.

    historical records;

    historical research.

  2. based on or reconstructed from an event, custom, style, etc., in the past.

    a historical reenactment of the battle of Gettysburg.

  3. having once existed or lived in the real world, as opposed to being part of legend or fiction or as distinguished from religious belief.

    Scholars doubt that a historical Camelot ever existed.

    Her thesis was an overview of how theologians have studied the historical Jesus.

    Synonyms:
    factual, authentic
  4. narrated or mentioned in history; belonging to the past.

    He cited several historical examples of international conflict resolution.

  5. relating to or involving analysis based on a comparison among several periods of development of a phenomenon, as in language or economics.

    She taught a course in historical linguistics.

  6. historic.


historical British  
/ hɪˈstɒrɪkəl /

adjective

  1. belonging to or typical of the study of history

    historical methods

  2. concerned with or treating of events of the past

    historical accounts

  3. based on or constituting factual material as distinct from legend or supposition

  4. based on or inspired by history

    a historical novel

  5. occurring or prominent in history

  6. a less common word for historic

"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

Other Word Forms

  • antihistorical adjective
  • antihistoricalness noun
  • historically adverb
  • historicalness noun
  • nonhistorical adjective
  • nonhistoricalness noun
  • pseudohistorical adjective
  • quasi-historical adjective
  • semihistorical adjective
  • superhistorical adjective
  • unhistorical adjective

Etymology

Origin of historical

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin historic(us) historic ( def. ) + -al 1 ( def. )

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.

In a May order allowing the other firings, the court went out of its way to carve out the Fed as “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity” with a “distinct historical tradition.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It is a repudiation of cosmopolitan universalism in favor of historical continuity and particular identity.

From The Wall Street Journal

To further test the theory that Bd-Brazil spread internationally through bullfrog exports, researchers analyzed historical trade records, fungal genetics from Brazilian frog farms, and genetic data from bullfrogs sold in foreign markets.

From Science Daily

"Levi's historical posts contain language which is unacceptable and Levi has been spoken to about this behaviour," they added.

From BBC

He also praised Speed for being "bold enough to try a large amount of raw meat" - a local delicacy with deep historical roots.

From BBC