ahistorical

adjective ahis·tor·i·cal \ ˌā-hi-ˈstȯr-i-kəl , -ˈtär- \

variants: or ahistoric play \-ik\

Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of ahistorical

: not concerned with or related to history, historical development, or tradition

an ahistorical attitude

; also : historically inaccurate or ignorant

an ahistorical version of events

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ahistorically

play \-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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ahistoricism

play \-ə-ˌsi-zəm\ noun

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ahistoricity

play \-ˌhis-tə-ˈri-sə-tē\ noun

Recent Examples of ahistorical from the Web

From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi To understand where our anti-black and ahistorical understandings of slavery came from, read award-winning historian Kendi’s New York Times best-selling book.

— brooke obie, The Root, "Here’s a List of Books on Slavery That Kanye Should Read," 3 May 2018
But this statement, in all of its ahistorical absurdity, was particularly unsettling.

— clint smith, The New Republic, "Wake Up, Mr. West!," 3 May 2018
This play is a welcome antidote to such fuzzy, ahistorical nostalgia.

— mike fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "'Top Girls' keep others down in excellent Renaissance production," 8 Apr. 2018
As before, the exhibition takes up two floors and is even more intently ahistorical than its predecessor, mixing old and new from beginning to end.

— roberta smith, New York Times, "Real, or Too Real? A Dazzling Show Goes the Way of All Flesh," 22 Mar. 2018
Johnson’s comments, criticized as glib and ahistorical, angered both sides of the Irish border.

— william booth, Washington Post, "Northern Ireland has become an unexpected hurdle for Brexit," 28 Feb. 2018
Olga Kurylenko plays a crucial (if ahistorical) role as a concert pianist, and Andrea Riseborough and Rupert Friend appear as Stalin’s grown, if not exactly grownup, children.

— christopher orr, The Atlantic, "The Death of Stalin Is a Wicked Farce," 16 Mar. 2018
Unlike the studios of many contemporary artists, which are often minimalist affairs, defiantly ahistorical, his is redolent of the past.

— nancy hass, New York Times, "Inside a Parisian Sculptor’s World of Wonders," 21 Feb. 2018
To say this is ahistorical and offensive doesn't even scratch the surface.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "Martin Luther King, Jr. Spreads the Gospel of Four-Wheel Drive," 5 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ahistorical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of ahistorical

1911

in the meaning defined above

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