CLASSICAL

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does classical mean? 

• CLASSICAL (noun)
  The noun CLASSICAL has 1 sense:

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

  Familiarity information: CLASSICAL used as a noun is very rare.

• CLASSICAL (adjective)
  The adjective CLASSICAL has 2 senses:

1. of or characteristic of a form or system felt to be of first significance before modern times
2. of recognized authority or excellence

  Familiarity information: CLASSICAL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CLASSICAL (noun)

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

classical; classical music; serious music

Hypernyms ("classical" is a kind of...):

genre; music genre; musical genre; musical style (an expressive style of music)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "classical"):

chamber music (serious music performed by a small group of musicians)

opera (a drama set to music; consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes)

cantata; oratorio (a musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text)

concerto (a composition for orchestra and a soloist)

fugue (a musical form consisting of a theme repeated a fifth above or a fourth below its first statement)

rondeau; rondo (a musical form that is often the last movement of a sonata)

sonata (a musical composition of 3 or 4 movements of contrasting forms)

• CLASSICAL (adjective)

Meaning:

Of or characteristic of a form or system felt to be of first significance before modern times

Similar:

classic (characteristic of the classical artistic and literary traditions)

Graeco-Roman; Greco-Roman; Hellenic (characteristic of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures)

neoclassic; neoclassical (characteristic of a revival of an earlier classical style)

Domain category:

beaux arts; fine arts (the study and creation of visual works of art)

Antonym:

nonclassical (not classical)

Meaning:

Of recognized authority or excellence

Synonyms:

authoritative; classical; definitive

Context examples:

the definitive work on Greece / classical methods of navigation

Similar:

standard (established or widely recognized as a model of authority or excellence)