canonical
Part of tradition
Canonical means conforming to an established standard or rule.
In religion, canonical texts are those officially accepted as scripture: the canonical gospels.
More broadly, canonical refers to works or ideas considered essential or authoritative within a field: Citizen Kane is canonical in film studies.
In mathematics and computing, a canonical form is the standard or simplest representation of something.
The word implies not just acceptance but official status—what's been sanctioned by authority or consensus.
Settling a question finally
- standardLevel of quality accepted
- officialAuthority-sanctioned person or status
- acceptedFormally agreed to
- recognizedPerceived as familiar
established · approved · sanctioned · authenticated · verified · legitimate · binding · normative
Sacred religious writings
- liturgyFormal worship structure
- dogmaUnchallengeable official beliefs
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- theologyStudy of the divine
orthodoxy · creed · sacrament · apostolic · ecumenical · papal · bishopric · ecclesiastical
Written proof or legacy
- gospelSacred choral tradition
- PentateuchFive books of Moses
- prophetsProclaimers of sacred truth
- psalmsReligious songs of praise
epistles · revelation · deuterocanonical · Septuagint · apocrypha · Maccabees · Enoch · pseudepigrapha
Functions or labors
- textsDigital short messages
- WesternOf Euro-American civilization
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- HomerAncient Greek epic composer
Dante · Milton · Chaucer · Austen · Dickens · Tolstoy · curriculum · syllabus
Shape or document
- equationMathematical equality assertion
- transformationThorough change in form
- representationDepiction or likeness
- coordinatesLocation-specifying number pairs
basis · notation · formulation · decomposition · factorization · Jordan · partition · ensemble
Enacted written rule
- precedentPrior authoritative example
- codifiedMade into systematic rules
- charterFounding organizational document
- constitutionInherent physical or structural makeup
ordinance · decree · ruling · jurisprudence · legislative · regulatory · civil · common law
definitive
Settling a question finally
- standardLevel of quality accepted
- officialAuthority-sanctioned person or status
- acceptedFormally agreed to
recognized · established · approved · sanctioned · authenticated · verified · legitimate · binding · normative · prescriptive
scripture
Sacred religious writings
- liturgyFormal worship structure
- dogmaUnchallengeable official beliefs
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
theology · orthodoxy · creed · sacrament · apostolic · ecumenical · papal · bishopric · ecclesiastical · sanctioned
testament
Written proof or legacy
- gospelSacred choral tradition
- PentateuchFive books of Moses
- prophetsProclaimers of sacred truth
psalms · epistles · revelation · deuterocanonical · Septuagint · apocrypha · Maccabees · Enoch · pseudepigrapha · codex
works
Functions or labors
- textsDigital short messages
- WesternOf Euro-American civilization
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
Homer · Dante · Milton · Chaucer · Austen · Dickens · Tolstoy · curriculum · syllabus · anthology
form
Shape or document
- equationMathematical equality assertion
- transformationThorough change in form
- representationDepiction or likeness
coordinates · basis · notation · formulation · decomposition · factorization · Jordan · partition · ensemble · conjugate
statute
Enacted written rule
- precedentPrior authoritative example
- codifiedMade into systematic rules
- charterFounding organizational document
constitution · ordinance · decree · ruling · jurisprudence · legislative · regulatory · civil · common law · tribunal
- academicscholarly, academic, intellectual, erudite, learned
- literary adjectivespoetic, lyrical, prosaic, narrative, elegiac
- religious doctrinedogma, creed, tenets, beliefs, precepts
- sacred adjectivesdivine, holy, blessed, sacred, sanctified
- Anglican ChurchAnglicanism, bishop, Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England, parish
- metatagscharset, viewport, robots, author, refresh
canonicalapocryphal
Unverified and probably untrue
noncanonical · unsanctioned · unofficial · unauthorized · spurious
canonicalunorthodox
Contrary to accepted practice
nonstandard · heterodox · non-canonical · unconventional · deviant
canonicalatypical
Not conforming to type
unrepresentative · obscure · peripheral · marginal · minor
- canonical gospelsAuthorized New Testament quartet
- canonical worksOfficially recognized masterpieces