What does "typical" mean?
Anything that is typical, normal, or standard.
Typical
/ˈtɪp.ɪ.kəl/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Anything that is typical, normal, or standard.
- Grammar: typical is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: absolute, accepted, accustomed, any old thing.
- Useful contrasts: atypical, untypical, aberrant.
- Usage evidence: It is often pointed out that a vague smile is typical of the Japanese.
How to use "typical"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "typical" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "typical" 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 "typical" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "typical" 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 "typical" 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 "absolute" 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 "typical", 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 Anything that is typical, normal, or standard.
"Antipsychotic drugs can be divided into typicals and atypicals."
Adjective
- 1 Capturing the overall sense of a thing.
- 2 Characteristically representing something by form, group, idea or type.
"Compare this with, for instance, the heights of adult humans. They certainly lie within half an order of magnitude from a mean of about 1.7 m, being within the interval 5.4–0.54 m (18–1.8 ft). It is obvious from our three examples—the height of a person, household income in the United States, and the area of EU countries—that the concept of what is typical or characteristic depends on the case one refers to. Nevertheless, even vague measures can have a useful meaning in a comparison with something that is very different. For instance, the area of EU countries is typically much larger than the area of the city of New York, although Malta is actually smaller."
- 3 Normal, average; to be expected.
"Also perpetual is the practice of extending greetings and best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year. The most typical traditional greeting is gong xi fa cai (for prosperity). And it certainly has been the most appropriate one since China in late 1978 denounced the political upheaval of the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and launched its large-scale reform and development programmes."
- 4 Of a lower taxon, containing the type of the higher taxon.
"Celticecis species are definitely known only from the typical subgenus of Celtis, distributed through much of the Holarctic Region."
Adjective
- 1 of a feature that helps to distinguish a person or thing wordnet
- 2 conforming to a type wordnet
- 3 exhibiting the qualities or characteristics that identify a group or kind or category wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"It is often pointed out that a vague smile is typical of the Japanese."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "typical"?
Common synonyms include: absolute, accepted, accustomed, any old thing, arabidopsis thaliana model, archetypal.
How do you use "typical" in a sentence?
It is often pointed out that a vague smile is typical of the Japanese.
How do you pronounce "typical"?
Pronounced /ˈtɪp.ɪ.kəl/.
Etymology
From Late Latin typicalis, from Latin typicus (“typical”), from Ancient Greek τυπικός (tupikós, “of or pertaining to a type, conformable, typical”), from τύπος (túpos, “mark, impression, type”), equivalent to typic + -al and type + -ical.