epochal

adjective

ep·​och·​al ˈe-pə-kəl How to pronounce epochal (audio)
ˈe-ˌpä-kəl
1
: of or relating to an epoch
2
: uniquely or highly significant : momentous
during his three epochal years in the assemblyC. G. Bowers
also : unparalleled
epochal stupidity
epochally adverb

Examples of epochal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Perhaps the most epochal illustration concerned, of all people, Barack Obama. Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s co-founder and chief executive, argues that an epochal shift to upgrade data centers with chips needed for training powerful A.I. models is still in its early phases. Don Clark, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Neither of those contests reflected the kind of epochal moment that scholars and political professionals see this year. Peter Baker, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2024 Those ideas bubbled up from right-wing think tanks into the halls of power, culminating in the Abraham Accords. Administration officials began laying the groundwork for that epochal shift in regional dynamics within weeks of Trump’s ascension to power. Noah Rothman, National Review, 2 Feb. 2024 Whatever its outcome, the accusation of genocide leveled this week against Israel at the world’s top court is an epochal intervention imbued with profound symbolism for both Israelis and Palestinians. Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2024 Granular because the songs (by Will Butler) are not decorations but are elemental to the plot, in which the five members of a rock band spend a year of the mid-1970s writing and laying down tracks for an epochal new album while bickering over each riff and tempo. Jesse Green, New York Times, 29 Oct. 2023 At least, not like other epochal companies of the internet age, such as Meta and Google. Karen Hao, The Atlantic, 20 Nov. 2023 But experts say these demographic predictions are reliable, and that an epochal shift is underway. Declan Walsh, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'epochal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1685, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of epochal was in 1685

Dictionary Entries Near epochal

Cite this Entry

“Epochal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epochal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on epochal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!