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 (contrasted with 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

Derived Forms

• anticlassicism
  noun
• classicistic
  adjective
• anticlassicalism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of classicism

First recorded in 1820–30; classic + -ism

Example Sentences

Classicism doesn’t generate much excitement these days, even though there is plenty of barbarism to go around, but the concise and revealing Getty show digs deep.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2021

Rivera’s, executed at about 16, shows the armless sculpture lying on its back on the ground — European Classicism toppled.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2016

Mr. Rattle’s order, together with the tautness and ravishing quality of the performance, emphasized that Classicism to fine effect.

From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2016

“The Rake’s Progress” Slyly moving, Stravinsky’s operatic masterpiece riffs on Mozartean Classicism with an energy and tenderness that presses it past pastiche.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2015

Witness the sharp revolt, particularly in France and Germany, in the early nineteenth century, from Classicism to Romanticism.

From Dramatic Technique by Baker, George Pierce

Related Words

• grandeur