Elizabethan
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England, or to her times.
Elizabethan diplomacy; Elizabethan music.
-
noting or pertaining to an English Renaissance style of architecture of the reign of Elizabeth I characterized by fantastic sculptured or molded ornament of German or Flemish origin, symmetrical layouts, and an emphasis on domestic architecture.
noun
adjective
-
of, characteristic of, or relating to England or its culture in the age of Elizabeth I or to the United Kingdom or its culture in the age of Elizabeth II
-
of, relating to, or designating a style of architecture used in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, characterized by moulded and sculptured ornament based on German and Flemish models
noun
Other Word Forms
- anti-Elizabethan adjective
- half-Elizabethan adjective
- post-Elizabethan adjective
- pro-Elizabethan adjective
- pseudo-Elizabethan adjective
Etymology
Origin of Elizabethan
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.
He said the attraction "wouldn't have happened" had the Elizabethan house not provided an "anchor" for the wider grounds.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
Suetonius recorded that Julius Caesar was “somewhat overnice in the care of his person,” and Elizabethan courtiers sported particolored slashed sleeves, but the dandy is a modern, urban phenomenon.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026
The instrumental consort—three viols, two violins, harpsichord and lute/theorbo—offered an invigorating collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean hits by such contemporaneous composers as William Brade, William Lawes, John Dowland and Anthony Holborne.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
He had written his sister a birthday card in Elizabethan English.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2025
He’s still in costume—a billowing white affair with multicolored polka dots, a triangular hat, and Elizabethan ruff.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions 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.
