variants
also archetypical
1
as in classic
constituting, serving as, or worthy of being a pattern to be imitated
St. Peter's basilica in Rome is considered by some art historians to be the archetypal structure in the baroque style
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in typical
having or showing the qualities associated with the members of a particular group or kind
the movie's hero is pretty archetypal, lacking in any distinctive qualities that would distinguish him from countless other masked avengers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of archetypal
Perhaps because Mansfield died young, at thirty-four, of tuberculosis, her adult and middle-aged characters tend to feel a bit archetypical by comparison.
—
Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
In its archetypal form, the seduction plot features a sybaritic aristocrat who attempts to debauch an upstanding daughter of the bourgeoisie.
—Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
In a region known for its rolling landscapes, romantic hill towns, and outstanding cuisine, Val d’Orcia is the archetypal Tuscany.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2026
The Yellow Jacket Lackey is the archetypal late bloomer.
—Teddy Cahill, New York Times, 29 May 2026
Seven artists wer shown including painter Apostolos Georgiou, and sculptor Koula Savvidou, whose hybrid sculptural figures made from plaster, metal, wood, and found materials, tend to read as fragmented, mythic bodies—somewhere between human, animal, and archetypal form.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
But being able to use the environment in surprising ways matched the surprising depth and detail with which the actors were able to realize characters that could be somewhat archetypal.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
The Beachcomber Cafe Between Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, and set directly on the sand within Crystal Cove State Park, The Beachcomber remains one of Orange County’s most archetypal dining setups, where waves crash just beyond the patio railing and diners often arrive barefoot from the beach.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
In Silicon Valley, there are a handful of archetypal leaders, like Steve Jobs as the visionary or Zuckerberg as the engineer.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 6 May 2026
Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
In its archetypal form, the seduction plot features a sybaritic aristocrat who attempts to debauch an upstanding daughter of the bourgeoisie.
—Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
In a region known for its rolling landscapes, romantic hill towns, and outstanding cuisine, Val d’Orcia is the archetypal Tuscany.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2026
The Yellow Jacket Lackey is the archetypal late bloomer.
—Teddy Cahill, New York Times, 29 May 2026
Seven artists wer shown including painter Apostolos Georgiou, and sculptor Koula Savvidou, whose hybrid sculptural figures made from plaster, metal, wood, and found materials, tend to read as fragmented, mythic bodies—somewhere between human, animal, and archetypal form.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
But being able to use the environment in surprising ways matched the surprising depth and detail with which the actors were able to realize characters that could be somewhat archetypal.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
The Beachcomber Cafe Between Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, and set directly on the sand within Crystal Cove State Park, The Beachcomber remains one of Orange County’s most archetypal dining setups, where waves crash just beyond the patio railing and diners often arrive barefoot from the beach.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
In Silicon Valley, there are a handful of archetypal leaders, like Steve Jobs as the visionary or Zuckerberg as the engineer.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 6 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for archetypal
Adjective
-
Tandoori Pizza is best known for combining classic Indian dishes, like tandoori chicken, malai paneer, curry chicken and chicken tikka and serving it on a pizza crust, the website showed.—
Emma Hall,
Sacbee.com,
17 June 2026
-
Food & drink The Ranch’s Horn and Cantle Saloon is a classic Western space, open for all breakfast, lunch, and dinner.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Reporters from England said this is a typical setup for the press covering the England men’s national team.—
Pete Grathoff
June 14,
Kansas City Star,
15 June 2026
-
As a result, the water constraints on the state would be even lower than what’s required to keep a typical golf course green.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
15 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Tigers played exemplary, complementary football in the first quarter.—
Clark Fahrenthold,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Dec. 2025
-
Also credit the offensive line, which was again exemplary.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
If the engine breaks down due to normal wear and tear covered by your warranty, then CarShield will pay to fix or replace the broken components.—
Alora Bopray,
USA Today,
9 Dec. 2025
-
As Asseo reported it, it was said while LaVine was on his way to the team bus, not in the locker room during a normal interview session.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
This is quintessential five-out offense, extremely difficult to guard because of the spacing and presence of five shooters on the floor.—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
13 June 2026
-
The square toe deviated from the quintessential round toe the Chanel cap-toe slingback is associated with, while the strap design played with cutouts and doubled around the ankle.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Conversely, the department said its review of medical school admissions data from 2023 to 2025 found that 93% of white and certain Asian applicants had MCAT scores at or above those of the average Black student.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
JioHotstar serves more than 500 million monthly average users and carries a library of over 300,000 hours of programming across 19 languages.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
In the most American of stories, the Idaho potato, forming half of the paradigmatic American meal (a burger and fries), only became a paradigm when gold was discovered in Idaho in 1860.—
Tamar Adler,
Vogue,
3 June 2026
-
To do this, several paradigmatic policies were used.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
When researchers overloaded a parallel 42 Gbps standard channel, speeds collapsed below 1 Gbps, while the 50 Gbps deterministic link stayed at full capacity.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Dec. 2025
-
These simmering resentments, along with standard NHS protocol and the need to kick the story into gear, help explain why Liz chooses to call social services when Jess unconvincingly insists her infant daughter Betsey simply fell down while crawling.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Archetypal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetypal. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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