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
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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