archetypal

variants also archetypical
Definition of archetypalnext
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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of archetypal The clubhouse looks more Soho House than an archetypal northern non-League clubhouse. — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026 Prada presented the skirt as a vocabulary, demonstrating the infinite possibilities that can emerge from an archetypal garment. — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026 Jones notes that actual letters found on Ball after his arrest, written to sustain the rebellion’s spirit, appeal to archetypal figures of the working land, including ploughmen like the one Garfield plays. — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 11 Sep. 2026 The archetypical Jersey Guy, to Fallon, is John Cusack in Say Anything. — Brendan Menapace, SPIN, 9 Sep. 2026 Instead, the company has replaced it with another fall flavor in a clear sign that the archetypal fall flavor of the 2010s is changing with the warming globe. — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026 This certainly looked like an archetypal case of a company’s size leaving consumers worse off—precisely what our antitrust laws are designed to prevent. — James Surowiecki, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026 The Soviet Union was an archetypal fragile superpower, its red star burning bright before its dramatic final implosion. — Ben Bland, semafor.com, 1 Sep. 2026 Still, the archetypal influencer in our cultural imagination is not a man reviewing watches on YouTube or hosting a podcast from his studio in Austin. — Laura Jung, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for archetypal
Adjective
  • At Turn Verein, the area’s German community center, revelers will have the opportunity to watch traditional dancing, listen to folk and polka bands and of course, drink steins of authentic German ale alongside classic Bavarian fare.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • From award-winning jerk pork wraps to classic rice and peas, every bite celebrates our heritage.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Between 50 and 60 visitors will make the trek out there on a typical day, according to David Boyd, public information officer for the White River National Forest.
    — The Aspen Times, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The distillery expanded into wood finishing with the launch of Maker’s 46 in 2010, but this wasn’t your typical cask-finished whiskey.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 11 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Setting the standard for luxury with exemplary service and culinary offerings, all at the heart of Santa Fe’s rich cultural center.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • In 2023, Leslie Van Houten was granted parole and released after holding what many described as an exemplary record for decades behind bars.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The prototype was tested on one construction worker during normal activities, including movement, breaks, drinking water and eating.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • In a normal year, most MLB teams would already be looking toward next year at this point in the season, as only a few teams remain alive.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The perfumer who created it, Olivia Giacobetti, is also the nose behind Diptyque’s Philosykos, a scent regularly name-checked as the quintessential fig perfume.
    — April Long, Allure, 12 Oct. 2026
  • As things happen, Parker reports, playing Eddie in Fool for Love led to the agent Gene Parseghian sending Willis to audition for a part in that quintessential ’80s film starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna, Desperately Seeking Susan.
    — Sam Kashner, Vanity Fair, 12 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The Southern Taurids have an average zenithal hourly rate of about five meteors per hour.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The average hurricane is about 300 miles (482 kilometers) wide, but hurricanes – or typhoons, as they’re called in the western Pacific of the Northern Hemisphere – can be much bigger or smaller.
    — Zachary Handlos, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The protagonist of a third paradigmatic example of the genre, José Eustacio Rivera’s La vorágine (The Vortex, Colombia, 1924), is not a landowner, but an urban poet swept into the violent world of the Amazonian rubber trade.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Adjective
  • But a few months later, at her 18-month appointment, the standard graph that plotted a child’s weight against their age showed her weight slipping off the curve.
    — Raj Panjabi, Time, 13 Oct. 2026
  • For those traveling in standard class with Comfort tickets, there’s a Starbucks, Shot Neighbourhood Coffee, WHSmith and soon-to-open McDonald's, along with a vending machine selling affordable hot meals.
    — Sophia Dyer, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Archetypal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetypal. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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