spectatorial

S1P3E1C3T1A1T1O1R1I1A1L1
UK/spɛktəˈtɔːɹɪəl/

adjective

Pertaining to a spectator.

Scrabble 16

Meanings

adjectivespectatorial (comparative more spectatorial, superlative most spectatorial)

comparative more spectatorial · superlative most spectatorial

  1. Pertaining to a spectator.

    Louis XIV had been his own Principal Dancer in court ballets down to the 1670s, but he increasingly took a spectatorial rather than a participatory role in entertainments, which became fewer and less grand.

    2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 19
    1 more example

    He was a psychologist rather than a philosopher, and his interest and zest in life, in the relationships of simple people, the intermingling of personal emotions and happy comradeships, kept him from ever forming cynical or merely spectatorial views of humanity.

    1905, William Cory (William Johnson), Ionica
  2. Suitable for spectating.

    Upon these Directions, together with other secret Articles herein inclosed, you are to govern your self, and give Advertisement thereof to me at all convenient and spectatorial Hours, when Men of Business are to be seen.

    1891, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3

Origin

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with spectatorial

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

spectatorial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spectatorial

MLA

“spectatorial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spectatorial. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spectatorial,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spectatorial.

Source: spectatorial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.