Confusable pair · C1
Historic or historical?
Historic means important enough to be remembered: a historic victory. Historical means simply belonging to the past or relating to history: historical records, a historical novel. Every historic event is historical, but most historical events are not historic — plenty of things happened without mattering.
Which word, and why
- historic
important in history
Famous or significant enough to be remembered.
a historic decision · a historic building · a historic win
- historical
relating to the past, importance not implied
Connected with history or with events that actually happened.
historical records · a historical novel · historical accuracy
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The treaty was signed in 1998 and is now seen as a moment.
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