Victorian

American  

[vik-tawr-ee-uhn, -tohr-] / vɪkˈtɔr i ən, -ˈtoʊr- /

adjective

1. of or relating to Queen Victoria or the period of her reign.

   Victorian poets.

2. having the characteristics usually attributed to the Victorians, especially prudishness and observance of the conventionalities.

   Synonyms:

   narrow, prim, smug, priggish, conventional, prudish

3. Architecture.

   1. noting or pertaining to the architecture, furnishings, and decoration of English-speaking countries between c1840 and c1900, characterized by rapid changes of style as a consequence of aesthetic and philosophical controversy, technological innovations, and changes of fashion, by the frequent presence of ostentatious ornament, and by an overall trend from classicism at the start to romanticism and eclecticism at the middle of the period and thence to classicism again, with attempts at stylistic innovation occurring from time to time.

   2. noting or pertaining to the massive, elaborate work characteristic especially of the period c1855–80, derived mainly from the Baroque and Gothic styles and characterized by the presence of heavy carved ornament, elaborate moldings, etc., by the use of strong and generally dark colors, by the frequent use of dark varnished woodwork, by the emphasis on geometrical form rather than on textural effects, and frequently by an effect of harshness.

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noun

Victorians plural

1. a person who lived during the Victorian period.

2. a house in or imitative of the Victorian style.

Victorian British  

/ vɪkˈtɔːrɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Queen Victoria or the period of her reign

2. exhibiting the characteristics popularly attributed to the Victorians, esp prudery, bigotry, or hypocrisy Compare Victorian values

3. denoting, relating to, or having the style of architecture used in Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria, characterized by massive construction and elaborate ornamentation

4. of or relating to Victoria (the state or any of the cities)

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noun

1. a person who lived during the reign of Queen Victoria

2. an inhabitant of Victoria (the state or any of the cities)

Victorian Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for the time when Victoria was queen of England, from 1837 to 1901. The Victorian period in England is known as a time of industrial progress, colonial expansion, and public fastidiousness in morals. The Victorian period in the United States had many of the same characteristics.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Victorianism
  noun
• post-Victorian
  adjective
• pre-Victorian
  adjective
• pseudo-Victorian
  adjective
• un-Victorian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Victorians
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Victorian

First recorded in 1870–75; Victori(a) + -an

Explanation

Someone who's victorian is particularly prudish or prissy. Your victorian math teacher might demand complete silence and expect to be addressed as "Sir." When you describe someone as victorian, you mean that the person has an old fashioned, uptight idea of how others should speak and behave. You'll often see the adjective spelled with a capital V, since it comes from the other meaning of the word, "from the time period during the reign of Britain's Queen Victoria." Ever since the mid-1930's, people have described overly proper acquaintances as victorian, meaning that they seem like they're living in the nineteenth century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Victorian Victorians

The rejection of Victorian moral earnestness after World War I made the colorful Disraeli a more appealing character than his contemporaries, especially Gladstone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

I almost felt like this life was like a Victorian novel, and every single thing he did along the way offered an opportunity for him to learn some important lessons.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

The objects, which sold for a total of £59,761, vary from a Victorian travelling shaving brush by pioneering silversmith Frances Douglas to an Imperial Russian tankard and an Edwardian jewellery box.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

The museum shut its previous London Wall site in December 2022 as part of a £437m project to move into the vast disused Victorian market building.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

Jule paid in cash by the week for the apartment, which was the top floor of a Victorian house.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

Licence re-examined the chronicle, which survives today in nine manuscript editions, alongside other 11th Century sources, to correct an error he said was popularised by the Victorians.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026

The area, known for its breathtaking views and mix of mansions, Victorians and prewar apartment buildings, has long been sought after.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

The Victorians sparked the modern obsession with engineering “lots of different looking dogs to fit different human wants,” said Dr. Rowena Packer, senior lecturer at the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

She and her colleagues discovered that the transformation of our pets championed by the Victorians through selective breeding actually started more than 10,000 years ago.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2025

If people were houses, Lola Celina, my grandmother, would, be a hot-pink Painted Lady—one of those fancy San Francisco Victorians tourists love, with intricate stained glass that casts rainbows onto the sidewalks.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio