Apollonian

[ ap-uh-loh-nee-uhn ]

adjective

pertaining to the cult of Apollo.
(lowercase) serene, calm, or well-balanced; poised and disciplined.

(lowercase) having the properties of or preferring classic beauty.: Compare Dionysian (def. 2).

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Origin of Apollonian

1655–65; <Greek apollṓni(os) of Apollo + -an

Words Nearby Apollonian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Apollonian in a sentence

Mayburn, folding his slice of bread-and-butter, took her harshness with Apollonian serenity.
The Shadow of Life | Anne Douglas Sedgwick
I am thus brought face to face with the eternal conflict in art between the Apollonian and the Dionysian principles.
An Autobiography | Igor Stravinsky
The two faces of the Greek art he calls the Apollonian and the Dionysian impulses.
Egoists | James Huneker
Arnobius and the fathers of the fourth century generally believed in the Apollonian thaumaturgy and attributed it to magic.
Demonology and Devil-lore | Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for Apollonian

Apollonian

/ (ˌæpəˈləʊnɪən) /

adjective

of or relating to Apollo or the cult of Apollo
(sometimes not capital) (in the philosophy of Nietzsche) denoting or relating to the set of static qualities that encompass form, reason, harmony, sobriety, etc

(often not capital) harmonious; serene; ordered

Compare Dionysian

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

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