historical
adjective
Did you know?
historic or historical?
Do you experience a slight pause before using either of these words as you try to remember which one is correct and whether it should be preceded by an or a? If so, you’re not alone, for many people find this pair particularly tricky. Historic and historical are both occasionally found preceded by an, since the initial h in each word was formerly left unpronounced. Now this h is heard, and a is far more common than an (by a ratio of about 4 to 1 in American English).
Historic and historical have been used interchangeably by many writers, even in recent years. If you would like to avoid being corrected, however, use historical for matters relating to history (the historical society), and historic to refer to things having great and lasting importance (a historic occasion).
Synonyms
Examples of historical in a Sentence
Kathleen Peddicord, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
Uncovering cultural resilience To better understand South Korea’s unique leisure culture, Kim looked to its historical backdrop — particularly the cultural stagnation that followed the decades of Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War.
—Hanna Park, CNN, 13 Jan. 2025
See them In a cathedral crypt, royal treasures that had been hidden and lost for decades were uncovered, revealing a trove of historical artifacts.
—Stories By Real-Time News Team, With Ai Summarization, Miami Herald, 13 Jan. 2025
In that—more than anything his talented writing staff and outside cheerleaders may put on the Teleprompter for his final attempts at historical revisionism—Biden should take a true measure of comfort.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 13 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for historical 
Articles Related to historical
Dictionary Entries Near historical
Cite this Entry
“Historical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/historical. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
historical
adjective
Share