historical

his·tor·i·cal

adjective \-i-kəl\

Definition of HISTORICAL

1

a : of, relating to, or having the character of history <historical data>

b : based on history <historical novels>

c : used in the past and reproduced in historical presentations

2

: famous in history : historic a

3

a : secondary 1c

b : diachronic <historical grammar>

— his·tor·i·cal·ness \-i-kəl-nəs\ noun

Examples of HISTORICAL

1. He strove for historical accuracy in the movie.
2. The kings are listed in historical order.

First Known Use of HISTORICAL

15th century

Related to HISTORICAL

Synonyms

documentary, hard, factual, literal, matter-of-fact, nonfictional, objective, true

Antonyms

fictional, fictionalized, fictitious, nondocumentary, nonfactual, nonhistorical, unhistorical

Related Words

actual, authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, right; documented, established; confirmable, reliable, supportable, sustainable, verifiable; demonstrable, provable; incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, irrefutable, undeniable, unquestionable; plain, simple; certain, undoubted

Near Antonyms

hypothetical, speculative, theoretical (also theoretic); apocryphal, unauthentic, undocumented; chimerical (also chimeric), fabulous, fanciful, fantastic (also fantastical), imaginary, imagined, invented, legendary, made-up, make-believe, mythical (or mythic), pretend; embroidered, exaggerated; insupportable, unsupportable

Other History Terms

agonistic, carpetbagger, enceinte, fief, historiography, paladin

Rhymes with HISTORICAL

rhetorical