Historical

/hɪˈstɒɹɪkəl/ adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A historical romance.
  • Grammar: historical is listed as adj, noun.
  • Nearest alternatives: historic, absolute, actual, admitting no question.
  • Useful contrasts: ahistorical, anachronistic, contemporary.
  • Usage evidence: We have a rich historical heritage.

How to use "historical"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "historical" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "historical" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "historical" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "historical" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "historical" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "historic" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "historical", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A historical romance.

    "However, as regular romance readers know, the romance novels that appear on the best-seller lists are not Harlequins at all, but rather historicals and contemporaries, which vary widely from the Harlequin pattern in style, plot, and character."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with recorded history, (particularly) as opposed to legends, myths, and fictions.

    "July 4, 1776, is a historic date. A great deal of historical research has been done on the events leading up to that day."

  2. 2
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with recorded history, (particularly) as opposed to legends, myths, and fictions.; About history; depicting persons or events from history.

    "There is no acknowledgment—because there is no understanding—that sometimes historical fiction departs from facts in order to reach for more abstract, thematic, or complexly intuitive truths that even the most diligently fact-checked histories and biographies can fail to illuminate."

  3. 3
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with the past generally.

    "Sith thou gaue to vs a floure most riall Redolent in cronicles with historicall syght."

  4. 4
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with the past generally.; Set in the past.
  5. 5
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with the past generally.; Former, erstwhile; (religious, obsolete) lapsed, nominal. uncommon

    "But concerning some persons of your neighbourhood... their Confession [of Faith] is rather an opinion than a true and sincere earnestness, for all of them are not that which they boast and glory to be; there may be many honest hearts among them; but many of them are only historical and titular, and desire only to show themselves, and to be applauded ..."

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with the past generally.; One of various tenses or moods used to tell about past events, historic (tense).

    "The historical present is often treated as a principal tense, but there are exceptions and sometimes both constructions appear in the same passage."

  2. 7
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with the past generally.; Synonym of hereditary or evolutionary. obsolete
  3. 8
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with the scholarly discipline of history.

    "The Royal Historical Society"

  4. 9
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with the scholarly discipline of history.; Done in the manner of a historian: written as a development over time or in accordance with the historical method.

    "The historical development of skill in foreshortening will be demonstrated in another section. Only the more perfect phases will be treated here."

  5. 10
    Of, concerning, or in accordance with the scholarly discipline of history.; Synonym of historic: important or likely to be important to history and historians. uncommon

    "A certain ball which a noble Duchess gave at Brussels on the 15th of June in the above-named year is historical. All Brussels had been in a state of excitement about it, and I have heard from ladies who were in that town at the period, that the talk and interest of persons of their own sex regarding the ball was much greater even than in respect of the enemy in their front."

  6. 11
    Forming compound adjectives with the meaning "historical/~" or "historically"

    "historical-political"

Adjective
  1. 1
    belonging to the past; of what is important or famous in the past wordnet
  2. 2
    having once lived or existed or taken place in the real world as distinct from being legendary wordnet
  3. 3
    used of the study of a phenomenon (especially language) as it changes through time wordnet
  4. 4
    of or relating to the study of history wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
historicabsoluteactualadmitting no questionalkahesticamerican revolution timeline

Example

"We have a rich historical heritage."

Common questions

What does "historical" mean?

A historical romance.

What is a synonym for "historical"?

Common synonyms include: historic, absolute, actual, admitting no question, alkahestic, american revolution timeline.

How do you use "historical" in a sentence?

We have a rich historical heritage.

How do you pronounce "historical"?

Pronounced /hɪˈstɒɹɪkəl/.

Etymology

From Latin historicus (“historical”) + -al (forming adjectives denoting of or relating to). By surface analysis, history + -ical.

More for "historical"

Synonyms

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