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Definition of "classical" []

  • Of or relating to the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially their art, architecture, and literature. (adjective)
  • Conforming to the artistic and literary models of ancient Greece and Rome. (adjective)
  • Versed in the classics: a classical scholar. (adjective)
  • Of or relating to the most artistically developed stage of a civilization: Chinese classical poetry. (adjective)
  • Music Of or relating to European music during the latter half of the 18th and the early 19th centuries. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "classical" in a sentence
  • "In general relativity, mass and energy are treated in a purely classical manner, where ˜classical™ means that physical quantities such as the strengths and directions of various fields and the positions and velocities of particles have definite values."
  • "Millions of record sales followed, earning him the title classical music's best - selling artist."
  • "In the nature of the case, the term classical itself is subject to an element of uncertainty."