Historic means important in history, memorable: a historic day, a historic victory. Historical means connected with history or the past: historical documents, a historical novel. If you could replace the word with significant or memorable, choose historic.
historic or historical — can you pick the right one?
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historic + event/moment/day/decision/building; historical + novel/film/fact/document/research; of historical interest
- We stayed in the historic centre of Kraków, a short walk from the main square.
- For my project, I used historical data on the city's population since 1900.
- Winning the cup was a historic moment for our small local club.
What changed
First versionI love reading historic novels about medieval England.
RevisionI love reading historical novels about medieval England.
A historic novel would mean a novel that made history, such as a very famous book. The genre of books set in the past is the historical novel. Because the two adjectives look so similar, the ending is often chosen by guesswork.
Historic is used not only for great events but also for old buildings and areas valued for their history: a historic building, the historic centre. Historical, meanwhile, remains a word about the past in general, with no judgement of its importance: historical records, historical research.
Your turn
Everyone in the square knew they were watching a ___ moment that would appear in history books.
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historic — The moment will appear in history books, so it matters for history: historic. Historical would simply show a link to the past, but here the event is happening in front of people.
Imagine you are telling a friend about a trip to an old town. Use historic for the place itself or an event, and historical for what you learnt about the past: books, maps, tours.
In York we walked along the historic city walls and then visited a museum with historical maps of the city.
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