Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Relating to the period, style, or attitudes of the reign of Queen Victoria of Great Britain (1837-1901): This describes anything characteristic of that historical era.
   • Characterized by a strict or conservative moral attitude, often considered prudish or old-fashioned: This describes behavior or standards perceived as excessively proper, modest, or rigid, reminiscent of the moral climate often associated with the Victorian era.

2. Noun:

   • A person who lived during the reign of Queen Victoria: This refers to an individual from that historical period.
   • A person with old-fashioned or strict moral views: This describes someone who adheres to or embodies conservative moral principles.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The house was built in the Victorian style, with ornate decorations and a large porch.
  • His Victorian attitudes towards relationships seemed out of place in the modern office.
  • We studied Victorian literature, focusing on the novels of Charles Dickens.

• Noun:

  • The Victorians made significant advances in engineering and industry.
  • My grandfather is a bit of a Victorian when it comes to table manners.

Advanced Usage

• "victorian values": A phrase often used to refer to a set of moral principles emphasizing hard work, respectability, sexual restraint, and strict social codes.

  • The politician's speech called for a return to Victorian values.

• Used to imply something is outdated or excessively prudish in a critical way.

  • Such a Victorian view of art censorship is no longer tenable.

Variants and Related Words

• Victorianism (n): The qualities, beliefs, or practices characteristic of the Victorian era, especially its moral attitudes.
  • The book critiques the social constraints of Victorianism.

Synonyms

• Adjective (for moral sense): Prudish, straitlaced, prim, proper, puritanical, old-fashioned.
• Adjective (for historical sense): Nineteenth-century, of the Victorian era.

Antonyms

• Adjective (for moral sense): Liberal, permissive, modern, progressive, broad-minded.

Related Phrases

• Victorian era: The historical period of Queen Victoria's reign.

  • The Industrial Revolution accelerated during the Victorian era.

• Post-Victorian: Referring to the period or attitudes following the Victorian era.

Adjective

1. typical of the moral standards or conduct of the age of Queen Victoria
2. exaggeratedly proper
   • my straitlaced Aunt Anna doesn't approve of my miniskirts
3. of or relating to Queen Victoria of Great Britain or to the age in which she ruled
   • Victorian morals

Noun

1. a person who lived during the reign of Victoria