Apollonian

American  

[ap-uh-loh-nee-uhn] / ˌæp əˈloʊ ni ən /

adjective

1. pertaining to the cult of Apollo.

2. (lowercase) serene, calm, or well-balanced; poised and disciplined.

3. (lowercase) having the properties of or preferring classic beauty.

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Apollonian British  

/ ˌæpəˈləʊnɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Apollo or the cult of Apollo

2. (sometimes not capital) (in the philosophy of Nietzsche) denoting or relating to the set of static qualities that encompass form, reason, harmony, sobriety, etc

3. (often not capital) harmonious; serene; ordered

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Etymology

Origin of Apollonian

1655–65; < Greek apollṓni ( os ) of Apollo + -an

Compare meaning

How does apollonian compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Apollonian vs. Dionysian

Example Sentences

We grow up to discover there are names in every culture for that — yin and yang, the Apollonian and Dionysian, Vishnu and Shiva, thesis and antithesis, the law of contraries, the dialectic.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2024

But Kennedy is also embarrassing himself by putting out photo and video content meant to prove that he, at age 69, is some kind of Apollonian model of physical perfection.

From Salon • Jul. 19, 2023

Perhaps more than most of his peers, he seems to have approached even excesses and transgressions with a certain intellectual detachment, taking an Apollonian perspective on an essentially Dionysian form.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2022

The protagonist of “Sun King” is a “Walrus”-like trickster spewing Apollonian gibberish in broken Spanish and Italian.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 21, 2019

Rumsey closed with an appeal for nurturing the artistic temperament in young and old alike, “to stoke that Apollonian ember in all mortal beings.”

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead