Copernican
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to Copernicus or his theories.
-
important and radically different; thoroughgoing.
a Copernican revolution in modern art.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Copernican
First recorded in 1660–70; Copernic(us) + -an
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As Justin Garson writes in “The Madness Pill: One Doctor’s Quest to Understand Schizophrenia,” the effect on psychiatry was like “the Copernican revolution in physics.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The authors' main argument draws inspiration from the Copernican tradition in astronomy.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
The last of those, the Copernican, covers the last 1.1 billion years of history — long before mammals, let alone human beings, even existed.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2023
With this staggering possibility, the Copernican principle has seemingly reached its limits.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 19, 2023
Although still extremely cautious about what he put down in print, he began to talk more openly about Copernican ideas following his success in Rome.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
