historical

adjective

hi-ˈstȯr-i-kəl How to pronounce historical (audio)
Definition of historicalnext
as in factual
restricted to or based on fact a historical novel that tells the story of Hannibal's crossing of the Alps through the eyes of a young boy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 historical As these historical examples underscore, there is no idealized past to reclaim nor idealized future to arrive at through an inevitable march of progress. — Mark Brilliant, Mercury News, 9 July 2026 For Pacific nations, nuclear testing in particular recalls historical harm. — ABC News, 9 July 2026 The Museum’s collection includes significant holdings of contemporary global art and important examples of historical art, particularly 18th- and 19th-century American art and works on paper. — Leslie Anderson, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 July 2026 The gallery announced exhibitions of new and historical works by Condo at its Paris and Palo Alto galleries in 2027. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 9 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for historical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for historical
  1. factual
  2. literal
  3. documentary
  4. true
  5. nonfictional
Adjective
  • Award-winning factual producer Proper Content is set to shutter amid tough market conditions.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 2 July 2026
  • Sotomayor, writing for the liberal justices, accused the majority of cutting the litigation short and argued that unresolved factual questions should have been returned to the lower courts.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of factual
Adjective
  • Its nostalgic notes include coconut, banana, pool water, and literal swimsuit Lycra.
    — Sara Coughlin, Allure, 9 July 2026
  • Many teams make the mistake of using AI to auto-generate basic, literal captions, which completely fail to convey the emotional nuance, visual data or branding of the creative work.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of literal
Adjective
  • Mundy-Castle continues his experiments with form in his latest feature, Shoot The People, a documentary portrait of the artist and activist Misan Harriman.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 6 July 2026
  • Among other election reforms, the bill would require documentary proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote.
    — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Definition of documentary
Adjective
  • This underscores how Apple's control over its devices, from hardware to software, limits true ownership and poses challenges for long-term digital preservation.
    — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
  • If religion is corrupted by breaking down the wall of separation, much the same is true of the state.
    — Kenneth Seeskin, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
Definition of true
Adjective
  • Pee-Wee as Himself, the 2025 Emmy award winner for best documentary or nonfictional special, is also among the nominees.
    — Brande Victorian, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2026
  • That delirious excess befits the essence of Lapid’s method, which is a fusion of fiction with indigestibly and irreducibly nonfictional elements.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of nonfictional

Browse Nearby Words

historic
historical
histories
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Historical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/historical. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on historical

Nglish: Translation of historical for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fulcrum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All