Standard Lemma guide

classical

adj · noun · 17 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australian, Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈklæs.ɪ.k(ə)l/
  • Australian, Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation: [ˈklæs.ɪ.kɫ̩]
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • New-Zealand: /ˈklɛs.ɪ.kəl/
  • New-Zealand: [ˈklɛs.ɪ.kɫ̩]
  • CMU ARPABET: K L AE1 S IH0 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of or pertaining to established principles in a discipline.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: traditional, conventional, canonical

Antonyms: modern, experimental

3

adj

Meaning 3

Describing Western music and musicians of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: popular, contemporary

4

adj

Meaning 4

Describing art music (rather than pop, jazz, blues, etc), especially when played using instruments of the orchestra.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ancient, Hellenic, Roman

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Knowledgeable or skilled in the classics; versed in the classics.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a classical scholar

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

Conforming to the best authority in literature and art; chaste; pure; refined

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • classical dance
  • 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume 1, page 151. Classical, provincial, and national synods.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adj

Meaning 8

Pertaining to models of physical laws that do not take quantum or relativistic effects into account; Newtonian or Maxwellian.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: quantum, relativistic

9

noun

Meaning 9

One that is classical in some way; for example, a classical economist.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

Ellipsis of classical music.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

Ellipsis of classical chess.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable

Topics: board-games, chess, games

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

adjective

Meaning 12

of or relating to the most highly developed stage of an earlier civilisation and its culture

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • classic Cinese pottery

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: classic

Antonyms: nonclassical

13

adjective

Meaning 13

of or relating to the study of the literary works of ancient Greece and Rome

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a classical scholar

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

adjective satellite

Meaning 14

of or pertaining to or characteristic of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures; "classical

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • classical mythology

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: classic, Greco-Roman, Graeco-Roman, Hellenic

Antonyms: none provided

15

adjective satellite

Meaning 15

of recognized authority or excellence

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the definitive work on Greece
  • classical methods of navigation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: authoritative, classic, definitive

Antonyms: none provided

16

adjective satellite

Meaning 16

(language) having the form used by ancient standard authors; "classical Greek

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

17

noun

Meaning 17

traditional genre of music conforming to an established form and appealing to critical interest and developed musical taste

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: classical music, serious music

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: music genre, musical genre, genre, musical style

Narrower terms: chamber music, opera, cantata, oratorio, concerto, fugue, rondo, rondeau, sonata

History

Etymology

See classic § Etymology for history. By surface analysis, class + -ical or classic + -al or class + -ic + -al

Across languages

Translations

99 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَقْلِيدِيّ (taqlīdiyy) — literature etc
  • Arabic: كْلَاسِيكِيّ (klāsikiyy) — literature etc
  • Armenian: դասական (dasakan) — literature etc
  • Azerbaijani: klassik — literature etc
  • Belarusian: класі́чны (klasíčny) — literature etc
  • Belarusian: клясы́чны (kljasýčny) — literature etc
  • Bulgarian: класи́чески (klasíčeski) — literature etc
  • Chinese Mandarin: 古典的 (gǔdiǎn de) — literature etc
  • Czech: klasický — literature etc
  • Danish: klassisk — literature etc
  • Dutch: klassiek — literature etc
  • Esperanto: klasika — literature etc
  • Finnish: klassinen — literature etc
  • French: classique — literature etc
  • Galician: clásico — literature etc
  • Georgian: კლასიკური (ḳlasiḳuri) — literature etc
  • German: klassisch — literature etc
  • Hungarian: klasszikus — literature etc
  • Ido: klasika — literature etc
  • Irish: clasaiceach — literature etc
  • Italian: classico — literature etc
  • Japanese: 古典的 (kotenteki) — literature etc
  • Japanese: 古典 (koten) — literature etc
  • Kazakh: классикалық (klassikalyq) — literature etc
  • Korean: 고전적 (gojeonjeok) — literature etc
  • Korean: 고전 (gojeon) — literature etc
  • Central Kurdish: کلاسیکی (klasîkî) — literature etc
  • Macedonian: класичен (klasičen) — literature etc
  • Norwegian Bokmål: klassisk — literature etc
  • Persian: کلاسیک (kelâsik) — literature etc
  • Polish: klasyczny — literature etc
  • Portuguese: clássico — literature etc
  • Romanian: clasic — literature etc
  • Russian: класси́ческий (klassíčeskij) — literature etc
  • Serbo-Croatian: класичан — literature etc
  • Serbo-Croatian: klasičan — literature etc
  • Slovak: klasický — literature etc
  • Slovene: klasičen — literature etc
  • Spanish: clásico — literature etc
  • Swedish: klassisk — literature etc
  • Turkish: klasik — literature etc
  • Ukrainian: класи́чний (klasýčnyj) — literature etc
  • Uzbek: klassik — literature etc
  • Vietnamese: cổ điển — literature etc
  • Welsh: clasurol — literature etc
  • Welsh: uchawdurol — literature etc
  • Chinese Mandarin: 古典 (gǔdiǎn) — describing a style of music
  • Danish: klassisk — describing a style of music
  • Finnish: klassinen — describing a style of music
  • German: klassisch — describing a style of music
  • Hungarian: klasszicista — describing a style of music
  • Kazakh: классикалық (klassikalyq) — describing a style of music
  • Māori: ōkawa — describing a style of music
  • Welsh: clasurol — describing a style of music
  • Welsh: uchawdurol — describing a style of music
  • Danish: klassisk — Greek and Roman
  • Finnish: klassinen — Greek and Roman
  • French: classique — Greek and Roman
  • German: klassisch — Greek and Roman
  • Hungarian: klasszikus — Greek and Roman
  • Hungarian: antik — Greek and Roman
  • Irish: clasaiceach — Greek and Roman
  • Italian: classico — Greek and Roman
  • Portuguese: clássico — Greek and Roman
  • Russian: класси́ческий (klassíčeskij) — Greek and Roman
  • Serbo-Croatian: класичан — Greek and Roman
  • Serbo-Croatian: klasičan — Greek and Roman
  • Spanish: clásico — Greek and Roman
  • Welsh: clasurol — Greek and Roman
  • Chinese Mandarin: 經典 /经典 (jīngdiǎn) — in physics
  • Chinese Mandarin: 古典 (gǔdiǎn) — in physics
  • Danish: klassisk — in physics
  • Finnish: klassinen — in physics
  • German: klassisch — in physics
  • Hindi: चिरसम्मत (cirsammat) — in physics
  • Hungarian: klasszikus — in physics
  • Kazakh: классикалық (klassikalyq) — in physics
  • Armenian: դասական (dasakan) — art etc
  • Bulgarian: класи́чески (klasíčeski) — art etc
  • Danish: klassisk — art etc
  • Finnish: klassinen — art etc
  • French: classique — art etc
  • German: klassisch — art etc
  • Hungarian: klasszikus — art etc
  • Hungarian: komoly- — art etc
  • Irish: clasaiceach — art etc
  • Italian: classico — art etc
  • Kazakh: классикалық (klassikalyq) — art etc
  • Central Kurdish: کلاسیکی (klasîkî) — art etc
  • Persian: کلاسیک (klâsik) — art etc
  • Portuguese: clássico — art etc
  • Russian: класси́ческий (klassíčeskij) — art etc
  • Serbo-Croatian: класичан — art etc
  • Serbo-Croatian: klasičan — art etc
  • Slovene: klasičen — art etc
  • Spanish: clásico — art etc
  • Swedish: klassisk — art etc
  • Welsh: clasurol — art etc
  • Welsh: uchawdurol — art etc
Real reading context

classical in complete knowledge articles