classical
[ klas-i-kuh l ]
/ ˈklæs ɪ kəl /
adjective
of, relating to, or characteristic of Greek and Roman antiquity: classical literature; classical languages.
conforming to ancient Greek and Roman models in literature or art, or to later systems modeled upon them.
marked by classicism: classical simplicity.
Music.
- of, relating to, or constituting the formally and artistically more sophisticated and enduring types of music, as distinguished from popular and folk music and jazz. Classical music includes symphonies, operas, sonatas, song cycles, and lieder.
- of, pertaining to, characterized by, or adhering to the well-ordered, chiefly homophonic musical style of the latter half of the 18th and the early 19th centuries: Haydn and Mozart are classical composers.
Architecture.
- noting or pertaining to the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, especially the religious and public architecture, characterized by the employment of orders.Compare order(def 27b).
- noting or pertaining to any of several styles of architecture closely imitating the architecture of ancient Greece or Rome; neoclassic.
- noting or pertaining to architectural details or motifs adapted from ancient Greek or Roman models.
- (of an architectural design) simple, reposeful, well-proportioned, or symmetrical in a manner suggesting the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome.
(often initial capital letter) pertaining to or designating the style of fine arts, especially painting and sculpture, developed in Greece during the 5th and 4th centuries b.c., chiefly characterized by balanced composition, the separation of figures from an architectural background, and the naturalistic rendering of anatomical details, spatial movement, and distribution of weight in a figure.Compare archaic(def 4), Hellenistic(def 5).
of or relating to a style of literature and art characterized by conformity to established treatments, taste, or critical standards, and by attention to form with the general effect of regularity, simplicity, balance, proportion, and controlled emotion (contrasted with romantic).
pertaining to or versed in the ancient classics: a classical scholar.
relating to or teaching academic branches of knowledge, as the humanities, general sciences, etc., as distinguished from technical subjects.
(of a given field of knowledge) accepted as standard and authoritative, as distinguished from novel or experimental: classical physics.
Ecclesiastical. pertaining to a classis.
noun
classical music: a jazz pianist who studied classical for years.
Content related to classical
If “W” Is Double U, Why Is It Made Of Two Vs?The 23rd letter of the English alphabet is a bit of a wonder. The humble “w” is the only letter of the alphabet with a three-syllable name. It is also the only letter with a name that does not indicate its phonetic use. The complications of “w” are doublefold because of its name, ‘double u’ and its shape, ‘double v’. What’s going on here? In English, …
If “W” Is Double U, Why Is It Made Of Two Vs?The 23rd letter of the English alphabet is a bit of a wonder. The humble “w” is the only letter of the alphabet with a three-syllable name. It is also the only letter with a name that does not indicate its phonetic use. The complications of “w” are doublefold because of its name, ‘double u’ and its shape, ‘double v’. What’s going on here? In English, …
Words related to classical
classic, humanistic, elegant, understated, academic, attic, Latin, Hellenic, Doric, Greek, roman, scholastic, Ionic, Grecian, bookish, canonical, Augustan, Homeric, Virgilian, belletristic
Words nearby classical
OTHER WORDS FROM classical
clas·si·cal·i·ty, clas·si·cal·ness, nounclas·si·cal·ly, adverban·ti·clas·si·cal, adjectivean·ti·clas·si·cal·ly, adverb
an·ti·clas·si·cal·ness, nounhy·per·clas·si·cal, adjectivehy·per·clas·si·cal·i·ty, nounnon·clas·si·cal·i·ty, nounpre·clas·si·cal, adjectivepre·clas·si·cal·ly, adverbpro·clas·si·cal, adjectivequa·si-clas·si·cal·ly, adverb
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH classical
classic classicalDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for classical
Stephanie Giorgio, a classical musician, credits The Class for helping her cope with anxiety, focus, fear, and self-doubt.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEASTFor Kirke it was being paid to pretend to play the oboe that heightened her affair with classical music.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEASTSince filming the show, however, her relationship with classical music has obviously changed.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEASTSo she was an aficionado of classical music, for soundtracks or otherwise?
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rafael painted dirty episodes from classical mythology in a bathroom at the Vatican Palace (sadly these are lost).
It had classical proportions and nice shaping and dressing in stone.
Our Legal Heritage, 5th Ed.|S. A. ReillyClassical names were frequently taken for imaginary personages by the writers of this time.
The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers|VariousHe was eminent for his classical knowledge and literary abilities, and spent 62 years in the gospel ministry.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel MunsellClassical literature, a word to literary men for recovering unpublished, 161.
He was well acquainted with the classical poets, and made experiments in translation, with a view of naturalizing classical feet.
British Dictionary definitions for classical
classical
/ (ˈklæsɪkəl) /
adjective
of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient Greeks and Romans or their civilization, esp in the period of their ascendancy
designating, following, or influenced by the art or culture of ancient Greece or Romeclassical architecture
music
- of, relating to, or denoting any music or its period of composition marked by stability of form, intellectualism, and restraintCompare romantic (def. 5)
- accepted as a standardthe classical suite
- denoting serious art music in generalCompare pop 1 (def. 2)
music of or relating to a style of music composed, esp at Vienna, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This period is marked by the establishment, esp by Haydn and Mozart, of sonata form
denoting or relating to a style in any of the arts characterized by emotional restraint and conservatisma classical style of painting See classicism (def. 1)
well versed in the art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome
(of an education) based on the humanities and the study of Latin and Greek
physics
- not involving the quantum theory or the theory of relativityclassical mechanics
- obeying the laws of Newtonian mechanics or 19th-century physicsa classical gas
another word for classic (def. 2), classic (def. 4)
(of a logical or mathematical system) according with the law of excluded middle, so that every statement is known to be either true or false even if it is not known which
Derived forms of classical
classicality or classicalness, nounclassically, adverbCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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