ENGLISH
REFERENCE

historical

adj.
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //hɪˈstɔɹɪkəɫ// UK //hɪstˈɒɹɪkəl// his·tor·i·cal Archaic General-service

adj. connected to the past or based on real events from history. You use this to describe things that actually happened or people who really lived.

adj. relating to or having taken place in the past, especially as documented in history. Often used to distinguish real events and figures from fictional ones.


SIMPLE

The museum has many historical documents on display.

CONTEXTUAL

The author spent years researching historical records to ensure the novel accurately reflected life in the nineteenth century.

COMPLEX

While the film takes some creative liberties with the timeline, it remains largely faithful to the historical reality of the diplomatic crisis.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Latin historicus (“historical”) + -al (forming adjectives denoting of or relating to). By surface analysis, history + -ical.

Usage

Commonly confused with 'historic'; 'historical' refers to anything from the past, while 'historic' is reserved for events of great importance.

Pitfall

a historic documenta historical documentUse 'historical' for general things from the past; 'historic' implies the document itself changed the course of history.

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