medieval
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Of or about the Middle Ages, the period from about 500 to 1500 AD.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mihdeevuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
mɪˈdivəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Of or relating to the Middle Ages, the period from approximately 500 to 1500 AD.
Having characteristics associated with the Middle Ages in popular, modern cultural perception
Relating to or belonging to the Middle Ages
noun
Someone living in the Middle Ages.
A medieval example (of something aforementioned or understood from context).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Of or relating to the Middle Ages, the period from approximately 500 to 1500 AD.
Used this way, medieval is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use medieval
- “We visited an ancient castle from the medieval period last summer.”
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The Greek language from about 600 to 1200 AD.
Latin used for liturgical purposes during the Middle Ages.
Any of a system of modes used in Gregorian chants up until 1600.
A scholar in one of the universities of the Middle Ages.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- renaissancenoun
- eranoun
- baroquenoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “medieval” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.