classical
Syllables: clas·si·calUK/ˈklæs.ɪ.k(ə)l/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
New Zealand/ˈklɛs.ɪ.kəl/
classical adjective: of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. Also the ellipsis of classical music.
Adjective
classical (comparative more classical, superlative most classical)
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art.
- ... Mr. Greaves, who may be juſtly reckoned a Claſſical Author on this Subject.1727, John Arbuthnot, Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures Explain'd and Exemplify'd in Several Dissertations, page 15
- Of or pertaining to established principles in a discipline.
- Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get; what you get is classical alpha-taxonomy which is, very largely and for sound reasons, in disrepute today.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii
- Synonyms:
- traditional, conventional, canonical
- Antonyms:
- modern, experimental
- Describing Western music and musicians of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
- Antonyms:
- popular, contemporary
- Describing art music (rather than pop, jazz, blues, etc), especially when played using instruments of the orchestra.
- Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially to Greek or Roman authors of the highest rank, or of the period when their best literature was produced; of or pertaining to places inhabited by the ancient Greeks and Romans, or rendered famous by their deeds.
- He [Atterbury] directed the classical studies of the undergraduates of his college.1853, Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Atterbury, Francis" in Encyclopædia Britannica (8th ed.). Dated through The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, page 344
- Knowledgeable or skilled in the classics; versed in the classics.
- a classical scholar
- But she’s not just classy; she’s classical: so deeply versed in tap tradition and technique that she has the whole of it at her command and never has to worry.2022 July 27, Brian Seibert, “Dormeshia Coasts On Her Tap Mystery In 'Rhythm Is Life'”, in New York Times
- Conforming to the best authority in literature and art; chaste; pure; refined
- classical dance
- Classical, provincial, and national synods.1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume 1, page 151.
- Pertaining to models of physical laws that do not take quantum or relativistic effects into account; Newtonian or Maxwellian.
- Antonyms:
- quantum, relativistic
Noun
classical (countable and uncountable, plural classicals)
- One that is classical in some way; for example, a classical economist.
- Similarly, the new classicals never claimed to be Austrians, nor did they ever make the attempt to meet Austrian objections. Therefore, we cannot fault them for not using this methodology. Nevertheless, new classicals constantly preach […]2002, James E Hartley, James E. Hartley, The Representative Agent in Macroeconomics, Routledge, →ISBN, page 120
Also used as
classical is also the ellipsis of classical music.
classical is also the ellipsis of classical chess.
classical meaning in Hindi, Arabic, Persian and Vietnamese
classical in Hindi
- in physics
- चिरसम्मत cirsammat
classical in Arabic
- literature, etc.
- تَقْلِيدِيّ taqlīdiyy, كْلَاسِيكِيّ klāsikiyy
classical in Persian
- art etc
- کلاسیک klâsik
- literature, etc.
- کلاسیک kelâsik
classical in Vietnamese
- literature, etc.
- cổ điển
Examples of classical in a sentence
- All unemployments, seasonal, frictional, cyclical, classical, whatever, mean that you're out of work.
- People who were taught classical Greek and Latin at school are a dying breed.
- The combination of classical music and hip hop is a surprisingly good mix.
Synonyms of classical
Antonyms
Forms of classical
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more classical |
| superlative | most classical |
| Noun | |
| plural | classicals |
Origin of classical
See classic § Etymology for history. By surface analysis, class + -ical or classic + -al or class + -ic + -al
Words formed from classical
- anteclassical
- anticlassical
- classical antiquity
- Classical Arabic
- Classical Armenian
- Classical Chinese
- classical cipher
- classical college
- classical computer
- classical conditioning
- classical dressage
- Classical English
- classical era
- classical field theory
- Classical Greece
- Classical Greek
- classical guitar
- classical guitarist
- classical hadrodynamics
- Classical Hebrew
- classical history
- classical inheritance
- classicalism
- classicalist
- classicality
- classicalization
- classicalize
- Classical Japanese
- classical language
- Classical Latin
- classical liberal
- classical liberalism
- classical logic
- classically
- classical mechanics
- classical micropatriology
- classical music
- Classical Nahuatl
- classicalness
- classicalon
- classical physics
- classical planet
- Classical Sanskrit
- Classical Studies
- Classical Syriac
- classical thermodynamics
- Classical Tupi
- classical unemployment
- classical unity
- epiclassical
- extraclassical
- hyperclassical
- jazzical
- neoclassical
- nonclassical
- paleoclassical
- postclassical
- preclassical
- pseudoclassical
- quasiclassical
Phrases with classical
Questions about classical
- What does classical mean?
- Classical means of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art.
- What is classical in Hindi?
- Classical in Hindi is चिरसम्मत (cirsammat). See Classical meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is classical?
- Classical can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce classical?
- Classical is pronounced /ˈklæs.ɪ.k(ə)l/ (UK).
Words near classical in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: classical (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-classical.ogg.
Cite this entry: “classical.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/classical. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.