classicism

American  

[klas-uh-siz-uhm] / ˈklæs əˌsɪz əm /

Also classicalism

noun

1. the principles or styles characteristic of the literature and art of ancient Greece and Rome.

2. adherence to such principles.

3. the classical style in literature and art, or adherence to its principles (romanticism ).

4. a Greek or Latin idiom or form, especially one used in some other language.

5. classical scholarship or learning.

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classicism British  

/ ˈklæsɪˌsɪzəm, ˈklæsɪkəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. a style based on the study of Greek and Roman models, characterized by emotional restraint and regularity of form, associated esp with the 18th century in Europe; the antithesis of romanticism Compare neoclassicism

2. knowledge or study of the culture of ancient Greece and Rome

3. 1. a Greek or Latin form or expression

   2. an expression in a modern language, such as English, that is modelled on a Greek or Latin form

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classicism Cultural  

1. An approach to aesthetics that favors restraint, rationality, and the use of strict forms in literature, painting, architecture, and other arts. It flourished in ancient Greece and Rome, and throughout Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Classicists often derived their models from the ancient Greeks and Romans.

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Discover More

Classicism is sometimes considered the opposite of romanticism.

Other Word Forms

• anticlassicalism noun
• anticlassicism noun
• classicistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of classicism

First recorded in 1820–30; classic + -ism

Example Sentences

In the office of Burnham & Root, Roth studied architectural books and drawings of antiquities, learning the grammar of a classicism he later used with such vigor in New York.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

"It was not elaborate like Victorian Gothic design that preceded it, and came with a classicism and simplicity that has survived the test of time," he said.

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025

The artist, now 89, draws from the improvisatory impulses of jazz, the power of Abstract Expressionism, the eclectic excessiveness of assemblage and the academic classicism of Renaissance painting.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2024

Babitz saw the popular Mexican dance as “enraged anarchy posed in mythical classicism as a dance.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2023

Everett was showily classical, but Lincoln’s classicism purrs powerfully under the hood.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Related Words

• grandeur