classical

[ klas-i-kuhl ]

/ ˈklæs ɪ kəl /

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See synonyms for: classical / classicals / classicality on Thesaurus.com

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.

classic (defs. 1-5, 8, 10).

Ecclesiastical. pertaining to a classis.

noun

classical music: a jazz pianist who studied classical for years.

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Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?

First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.

First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.

First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.

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Origin of classical

First recorded in 1580–90; classic + -al¹

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, classical

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for classical

This showcasing of classical culinary skill and American bounty became the prototype for diplomatic dinners and executive functions thereafter.
George Washington’s 1795 Thanksgiving celebrated liberty. But the chef behind the feast had none.|Ramin Ganeshram|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
After he took his psilocybin—the hallucinatory compound in magic mushrooms—from a chalice, he reclined, put a mask over his eyes, and listened to classical music, as the researchers watched and guided his experience.
What happens when psychedelics make you see God|Sarah Scoles|November 9, 2020|Popular Science
Those schooled at Harvard, Princeton, or William and Mary, like John Adams, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, made their way through tutorials in classical history, often relying on texts in the original languages.
Noble virtues, bad history: How Greece and Rome influenced America’s founders|Charles King|November 6, 2020|Washington Post
The highest-weighted path is generally the one you’d expect from ordinary classical physics, but not always.
The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End|George Musser|October 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine

We’re entering a new era that places other plays into the classical theater realm.
1st Stage offering virtual roundtable discussions|Patrick Folliard|October 24, 2020|Washington Blade
Much like the Taj Mahal, Revel opened in classically gaudy Atlantic City style in April 2012—with a sunrise Champagne toast.
I Watched a Casino Kill Itself: The Awful Last Nights of Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal|Olivia Nuzzi|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Classically, by turning on/off several genetic switches, scientists can revert cells to a less specialized stage.
Gene Editing Could Erase HIV|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Michael Zhang|June 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In order to build a Jewish nation and society, Zionists classically engaged in “negation of the Diaspora,” or shlilat hagolah.
Jonathan Pollard Means Israeli-American Squabbling Instead of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiation|Raphael Magarik|July 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Classically, three protagonists stand, pistols drawn, all with each other in the crosshairs at close range.
The Mexican Standoff in Egypt|Hussein Ibish|July 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Hitler is not a classically Cratylic name—not like Chastity.
What’s in a Name? Writers and Their Anthroponymy|Anthony Paletta|February 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Ruskin bade us worship his hero, classically screened in a cloud.
Art in England|Dutton Cook
She dressed always in white, and she was tall and pale and classically beautiful, and she was often silent, like a spirit.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
Jean Clemens was the only bridesmaid, and she was stately and classically beautiful, with a proud dignity in her office.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
Classically treated the subject might yet produce one of the greatest pictures of all time.
The Belovd Vagabond|William J. Locke
Jim was classically regular of feature, while Will possessed all the irregularity and brightness of his Hibernian ancestry.
The One-Way Trail|Ridgwell Cullum

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, adverb

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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Origin of classical

OTHER WORDS FROM classical

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH classical

Example sentences from the Web for classical

British Dictionary definitions for classical

adjective

Derived forms of classical

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

classical

adjective

noun

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Origin of classical

OTHER WORDS FROM classical

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH classical

Words related to classical

Example sentences from the Web for classical

British Dictionary definitions for classical

adjective

Derived forms of classical