English

Adjective

spectatorial ‎(comparative more spectatorial, superlative most spectatorial)

1. Pertaining to a spectator.
   • 1905, William Cory (William Johnson), Ionica:

     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.

     # suitable for spectating
   • 1891, Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3:

     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.

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 19:

     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.

Derived terms

• spectatorially