Skip to main content
gothic

gothic

1 8.8
Old-fashioned and not open to new ideas
  • adjective
  • /ˈɡɑːθɪk/
  • Archaic
translation icon : gótico
  • A simple two-story building with several gothic-arched windows, it faced a small public square shaded by tall ficus trees.
  • gothic revival

Examples

  • "and the largest Gothic mausoleum in the western US."

  • The company that bought it decided to tear it down because, at the time, they could make more money off parking than they could off an old gothic building.

    Blog text (17)
  • "It's Gothic style highlighted with Renaissance details."

  • When I say cathedrals, it is first and foremost the gothic buildings we admire.

  • It's a gothic mansion built in 1861... which would be worth five to six million dollars... if it were surrounded by prime vineyards.

  • Terrified, Pam walks towards the source of the wails, a gothic prison door to which the tent is affixed.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Oh Hiram, look at these darling gates, they're so wonderfully gothic.

  • We explored some of the gothic glories and relived the endless registration lines and the lectures that entranced classes the size of regiments.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Its relation with the surrounding neo-gothic buildings is in contrast; it claims to be contemporary architecture while taking into account the volume of the school's main building and its façade's hues.

    Blog text (17)
  • The Gothic cathedral, with its towering spires and intricate stained glass, is a breathtaking example of medieval architecture.

Synonyms

medieval
vsgothic
29 7.0

Very old-fashioned in ideas and often unfair

is similar but gives a stronger negative judgement of the outlook
mediaeval
vsgothic
  • UK
9.9

Old-fashioned and unfair in ideas or ways of treating people

is used for things showing Middle Ages characteristics rather than strict belonging

Antonyms

14 7.0

Having deep understanding of spiritual teachings and inner life

5 5.3

A person who has ideas and ways typical of the present time

Compounds

Gothic romance
  • Literature
1 9.3

Stories or novels with dark, mysterious settings and frightening events

A European church and cathedral style with tall pointed arches and flying buttresses

A style of building that copies medieval Gothic churches, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries

English-Gothic
  • Specialized
8.5

A style of church and cathedral building from 14th–15th century England with tall lines, Tudor arches, and fan-shaped stone ceilings

8.9

A style of English church design from the 1300s and 1400s with tall lines, Tudor arches, and fan vaults

Gothic arch
  • Specialized
7.4

A stone arch with a pointed top often seen in cathedrals

Gothic atmosphere
  • Literature
8.4

A dark, mysterious, and scary mood in a place or story

Gothic language
  • Specialized
9.9

An old East Germanic language once spoken by the Goths and known from a fourth-century Bible translation

A style of building design that copies medieval Gothic features like pointed arches and decorative stonework

Gothic romancer
  • Literature
9.9

A writer of dark, mysterious novels with ghosts or strange events

A building style from the 1800s that copies old Gothic churches with pointed arches and tall towers

How Old-Fashioned

archaic
34 9.9
medieval
29 7.0
gothic
  • Archaic
1 8.8
old-fashioned
149 4.7
outdated
78 5.0

Surface Forms

gothic positive
gothic-er comparative
gothic-est superlative

Morphology

gothic = Goth (semi-transparent) = goth + ic

The form clearly contains 'Goth' + '-ic', and the medieval association is historically visible, but the added sense of 'old-fashioned and unenlightened' is only partly predictable.

Etymology

Gothic comes from the name of the Goths, a people from long ago, and people later used it to mean 'barbaric' or 'backward'. So calling something gothic can mean it is 'old-fashioned' and 'unenlightened'.