classicism

noun

clas·​si·​cism ˈkla-sə-ˌsi-zəm 

1

a

: the principles or style embodied in the literature, art, or architecture of ancient Greece and Rome

b

: classical scholarship

c

: a classical idiom or expression

2

: adherence to traditional standards (as of simplicity, restraint, and proportion) that are universally and enduringly valid

Examples of classicism in a Sentence

a return to classicism in modern architecture

the classicism of the building

Recent Examples on the Web

The film shows you how Lean, for all his lavishly exacting middle-of-the-road classicism, was a radical filmmaker and perhaps the key inventor (along with Hitchcock) of modern Hollywood cinema. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 May 2026

BelarteStudio Also at WSA, interior designer Nina Takesh will launch her Eastern Blush wallpaper collection inspired by Persian heritage, European classicism and Parisian fashion. —Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 12 May 2026

The office itself leans toward old-school classicism, its conference and sitting rooms decorated with museum-quality Hudson River School paintings and 19th-century antiques. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 6 May 2026

After nearly a decade at the firm of AD100 Hall of Fame designer Daniel Romualdez, Boyle approached this project with a fluency in classicism and the choreography of rooms. —David Foxley, Architectural Digest, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for classicism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• sophism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism

Kids Definition

classicism

noun

clas·​si·​cism ˈklas-ə-ˌsiz-əm 

1

: the principles or style of the literature, art, or architecture of ancient Greece and Rome

2

: a following of the standards of tradition (as in music or art)