Apollonian

[ ap-uh-loh-nee-uhn ]

adjective
  1. pertaining to the cult of Apollo.

  2. (lowercase) serene, calm, or well-balanced; poised and disciplined.

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

Compare Meanings

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

Origin of Apollonian

1
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
  1. of or relating to Apollo or the cult of Apollo

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

  1. (often not capital) harmonious; serene; ordered

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