Vic·to·ri·an
vik-ˈtȯr-ē-ən 
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of the reign of Queen Victoria of England or the art, letters, or tastes of her time
2
: typical of the moral standards, attitudes, or conduct of the age of Victoria especially when considered stuffy, prudish, or hypocritical
1
: a person living during Queen Victoria's reign
especially
: a representative figure of that time
2
: a typically large and ornate house built during Queen Victoria's reign
: of or relating to Victoria
It looks very much like only one Victorian team will have a chance to push into the top four …—
Roy Ward
Roy WardSynonyms
Examples of Victorian in a Sentence
Adjective (1)
My parents have very Victorian attitudes when it comes to sex.
a conservative Christian sect with a code of sexual morality that is often seen as quaintly Victorian by outsiders
Recent Examples on the WebSeth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Apr. 2024
The largest number date from the Victorian era, the heyday of anatomical collecting, when doctors sometimes had medical treatises and other texts bound in skin from patients or cadavers.
—Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The exterior of the 19th-century building is reminiscent of Victorian manor houses, with lovely details like gilded mirrors and claw foot tubs in its 17 guestrooms.
—Kira Turnbull, Travel + Leisure, 19 Apr. 2024
Kathryn Newton plays a 1980s goth girl and Cole Sprouse is a Victorian corpse resurrected amid lively characters and clever, sardonic dialogue.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
Read More: Fans React to Beyoncé's New Album Cowboy Carter
Once seen as ruffians and pushed to the outskirts of Victorian society, cowboys were reinvented as rugged cultural heroes in the American consciousness in the early 20th century through dime novels, rodeos, movies, and more.
—TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
And, there’s the Victorian grassland earless dragon—a miniscule Australian lizard believed to be extinct in 1969.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
That roughing in of a few sharper edges parallels the addition of Victorian moralism to the animal world.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Check out Eureka Books for a two-story celebration of new titles in a historic Victorian building or Booklegger to get lost in a maze of used books.
—Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 6 Apr. 2024
On a sunny afternoon last Sunday, just six groups trickled through an open house for a four-bedroom, 1.5-bath Victorian in West Oakland.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024
Two centuries later, Victorian Britons appeared to suffer from a variant virus called orchidelirium, an all-consuming obsession with the fragile exotic plants first propagated commercially in the early 19th century.
—The Editors, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
For a little rest, reserve a room at Abilene's Victorian Inn Bed & Breakfast or Engle House Bed & Breakfast.
—Perri Ormont Blumberg, Travel + Leisure, 27 Mar. 2024
Fifty years later, Beaton, who would go on to serve as Queen Elizabeth’s police officer and was later appointed to the Royal Victorian Order, said that the kidnapping attempt would forever change modern security for members of the British royal family.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
In the Victorian Rose Garden, creeping helichrysum spills from stone vases, and climbing vines of Blossomtime and Aloha roses garland delicate arches.
—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2024
Sure, it’s set primarily in Victorian England, but Emma Stone’s wardrobe as the woman-child Bella Baxter is also expressive in a way that most period costuming isn’t.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 8 Mar. 2024
Instead of the dour, moralistic tales that were considered appropriate nursery fare at the time, Dodgson served up absurdist takes on Victorian England’s polite tea parties, its eccentric dons, its gossipy news stories, its popular poems, songs, dances, and parlor games.
—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024
Adjective
But this trial is unfolding within the insular walls of the Magic Castle — the legendary private club for magicians set inside a foreboding Victorian mansion, formerly a private residence, perched upon a Hollywood hilltop and established in 1963.
—Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Apr. 2024
The largest number date from the Victorian era, the heyday of anatomical collecting, when doctors sometimes had medical treatises and other texts bound in skin from patients or cadavers.
—Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The exterior of the 19th-century building is reminiscent of Victorian manor houses, with lovely details like gilded mirrors and claw foot tubs in its 17 guestrooms.
—Kira Turnbull, Travel + Leisure, 19 Apr. 2024
Kathryn Newton plays a 1980s goth girl and Cole Sprouse is a Victorian corpse resurrected amid lively characters and clever, sardonic dialogue.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
Read More: Fans React to Beyoncé's New Album Cowboy Carter
Once seen as ruffians and pushed to the outskirts of Victorian society, cowboys were reinvented as rugged cultural heroes in the American consciousness in the early 20th century through dime novels, rodeos, movies, and more.
—TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
And, there’s the Victorian grassland earless dragon—a miniscule Australian lizard believed to be extinct in 1969.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
That roughing in of a few sharper edges parallels the addition of Victorian moralism to the animal world.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Check out Eureka Books for a two-story celebration of new titles in a historic Victorian building or Booklegger to get lost in a maze of used books.
—Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
Noun
The neighborhood is home to a variety of Victorian and Queen Anne-style houses; sycamore, palm and walnut trees — and previously, well-to-do and working-class residents.
—Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 6 Apr. 2024
On a sunny afternoon last Sunday, just six groups trickled through an open house for a four-bedroom, 1.5-bath Victorian in West Oakland.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024
Two centuries later, Victorian Britons appeared to suffer from a variant virus called orchidelirium, an all-consuming obsession with the fragile exotic plants first propagated commercially in the early 19th century.
—The Editors, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
For a little rest, reserve a room at Abilene's Victorian Inn Bed & Breakfast or Engle House Bed & Breakfast.
—Perri Ormont Blumberg, Travel + Leisure, 27 Mar. 2024
Fifty years later, Beaton, who would go on to serve as Queen Elizabeth’s police officer and was later appointed to the Royal Victorian Order, said that the kidnapping attempt would forever change modern security for members of the British royal family.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
In the Victorian Rose Garden, creeping helichrysum spills from stone vases, and climbing vines of Blossomtime and Aloha roses garland delicate arches.
—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2024
Sure, it’s set primarily in Victorian England, but Emma Stone’s wardrobe as the woman-child Bella Baxter is also expressive in a way that most period costuming isn’t.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 8 Mar. 2024
Instead of the dour, moralistic tales that were considered appropriate nursery fare at the time, Dodgson served up absurdist takes on Victorian England’s polite tea parties, its eccentric dons, its gossipy news stories, its popular poems, songs, dances, and parlor games.
—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Victorian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Victorian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Victorian. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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