Search

Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing

Canonical

adjective / kuh-NON-i-kuhl / Hard
Meaning

Widely recognised as authoritative, standard, or definitive within a field

Origin / Etymology

Late Latin canonicus, from Greek kanon, 'rule' or 'standard'

Synonyms
Authoritative Standard Definitive
Antonyms
Apocryphal Unorthodox
Example Sentence
"The canonical evidence for the claim that governance quality conditions the return on public health spending comes from Rajkumar and Swaroop's cross-country study of under-five mortality."
🎯 UPSC Usage

Use to flag a study, case or precedent as the reference point of a field in a Mains answer, e.g., 'the canonical judgment on the basic structure doctrine remains Kesavananda Bharati (1973).'

Relevant Subjects
Economy
← All Words
A new UPSC word every morning Word of the Day at 7am, plus daily current affairs and free PDFs
Join Channel
BharatNotes