historically

adverb his·tor·i·cal·ly \ hi-ˈstȯr-i-k(ə-)lē , -ˈstär- \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Definition of historically

1 : in accordance with or with respect to history

an historically accurate account

2 : in the past

historically, stagnant cities seldom have recovered
—Jane Jacobs

Recent Examples of historically from the Web

Though historically and geographically close, the wealthy Arab states of the Persian Gulf had, in modern times, mostly ignored the African nations on the other side of the Red Sea.

— paul schemm, Washington Post, "Persian Gulf rivalries threaten to tear fragile Somalia apart, report warns," 4 June 2018
So watching Kanye — a man whose father was once a Black Panther and whose late mother was a professor at a historically black college — fan those treacherous flames with his pseudo-intellectual falsehoods was painful for many.

— lincoln anthony blades, Teen Vogue, "The Myth of the "Happy Slave," Explained," 2 June 2018
Transylvanian Unitarianism has been celebrating a free faith — in the face of deep tension with Romanian Orthodoxy, plus terrible oppression, both historically and in the 20th century.

— elizabeth greene, idahostatesman, "'Faith is the gift of God': A pilgrimage will leave us all changed," 31 May 2018
At the same time, a coalition of east-side clergy, contending that King's name belongs in a historically and predominantly black community, are gathering signatures to put The Paseo to a vote on the November ballot.

— bill turque, kansascity, "'Overkill' or 'great connector'? Thoughts along 63rd Street on renaming it for MLK," 29 May 2018
The project on University Avenue, 2 miles south of downtown Atlanta on the border of Pittsburgh — the historically black community founded in 1883 — will take up half the 31-acre site and be at a future leg of the Beltline.

— bill torpy, ajc, "Torpy at Large: Uneasiness along Atlanta’s newest gentrification front," 29 May 2018
The group will also have information about its effort to update the inventory of historically or architecturally significant properties in town.

— jennifer fenn lefferts, BostonGlobe.com, "Arlington to hold public forum on historic preservation," 23 May 2018
Fewer than 1 percent of Smith's 241 graduates this year were foreign-born, but students at the historically black university aren't immune from the vagaries of immigration law.

— bruce henderson, charlotteobserver, "She stayed in Charlotte after her mom was deported. Her future is 'up in the air.' | Charlotte Observer," 23 May 2018
Construction of that expressway, which required the removal of an alley of old oaks -- and which is blamed for destroying a historically black business district -- was nearly finished by the time Borah learned of the riverfront expressway plans.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "How one man became the hero of 'the second battle of New Orleans'," 20 May 2018

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