Greek Revival

American  

noun

1. a style of architecture, furnishings, and decoration prevalent in the U.S. and in parts of Europe in the first half of the 19th century, characterized by a more or less close imitation of ancient Greek designs and ornamented motifs.

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Greek Revival British  

noun

1. (modifier) denoting, relating to, or having the style of architecture used in Western Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, based upon ancient Greek classical examples

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Other Word Forms

• Greek Revivalism
  noun
• Greek Revivalist
  noun
• Greek Revivalist
  adjective

Example Sentences

Colleton’s 1820 Greek Revival courthouse is elegant like a wedding cake.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026

Commissioned by Federal Hall, the 45-minute site-specific performance, offered free of charge in the hall’s grand Greek Revival rotunda, is both a pageant-style survey of significant events at the site and an informed critique.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2023

The Greek Revival style that is common in that area of the Hudson Valley “did not feel authentic to me,” she said.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2023

Hanish’s temple was a Greek Revival building that still stands in Arlington Heights.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2022

The building was a good start: a rented two-story Greek Revival house built in 1882, near the historic district called “Old Alabama Town.”

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson