classic

Showing the usual or most recognizable features of something.

• That is a classic mistake.
• The patient showed classic signs of flu.
• His response was a classic example of bad manners.

How to use it: a classic example of something (This is a classic example of poor planning.)

Similar words: typical, characteristic

Opposites: atypical

Common phrases: classic example, classic mistake, classic case

Good and widely admired for many years, even as fashions change.

• She chose a classic design.
• This classic novel still attracts young readers.
• A simple black dress has a classic beauty.

Similar words: timeless

Common phrases: classic style, classic design, classic novel, classic beauty

From an earlier time, especially when people still enjoy or value it.

• He collects classic cars.
• The station plays classic rock.
• We spent the evening watching classic movies.

Similar words: vintage, retro

Opposites: modern

Common phrases: classic car, classic movies, classic rock

A book, film, song, or other work that people admire for many years.

• This film is a classic.
• She enjoys reading nineteenth-century classics.
• That song became an instant classic.

Similar words: masterpiece

Common phrases: a modern classic, read a classic, an instant classic

The languages, writing, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome, studied as a subject.

• She studies classics at university.
• Our classics teacher taught us Latin.
• His degree in classics included Greek poetry.

Similar words: classical studies

Common phrases: study classics, teach classics, classics degree

A writer whose work has been admired and studied for many years.

• Virgil is a Roman classic.
• The course introduces students to each Greek classic.
• She praised the poet as a classic.

Common phrases: a Roman classic, a Greek classic, read a classic