Many adjectives end in `-ic' or `-ical'.
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◊ adjectives related to '-ic' nouns
Sometimes an adjective ending in `-ical' is related to a noun ending in `-ic'.
She loved music and played the piano well.
The majority of the finance for musical performances comes from the audiences.
Pareto was a cynic, disillusioned by the society of his day.
...a cynical contempt for truth and decency.
The owner of the hotel is a sports fanatic.
The words in the following two lists are nouns ending in `-ic' which have related adjectives ending in `-ical'.
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These nouns refer to things:
arithmetic, comic, logic, magic, music, tactic
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These nouns refer to people:
comic, critic, cynic, fanatic, mystic, sceptic
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Note that `comic' can refer to a thing (a cartoon magazine) or a person (a comedian).
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`Comic', `fanatic', `magic', and `mystic' can themselves be used as adjectives.
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Many other nouns end in `-ic', for example `fabric', `panic', and `relic', but they do not have related adjectives ending in `-ical'.
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◊ adjectives related to '-ics' nouns
Many nouns end in `-ics'. Sometimes the adjective related to them ends in `-ic' and sometimes it ends in `-ical'.
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The following nouns have related adjectives ending in `-ic':
acoustics, acrobatics, aerobatics, aerobics, aerodynamics, athletics, basics, economics, electronics, genetics, graphics, gymnastics, heroics, histrionics, italics, linguistics, obstetrics, specifics, thermodynamics
...the amazing developments in genetics that have taken place recently.
...the rapid progress being made in the field of genetic research.
The following nouns have related adjectives ending in `-ical':
aeronautics, classics, ethics, hysterics, mathematics, physics, statistics, tropics
...the doctor's code of ethics.
...the kinds of ethical and moral problems that will arise.
Note that `logistics' has two related adjectives: `logistic' and `logistical'.
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◊ '-ic' and '-ical' adjectives
A number of adjectives have forms ending in `-ic' and `-ical', with no great difference in meaning.
There was some scattered ironic applause from the crowd.
He smiled a friendly, slightly ironical smile.
The whole business becomes problematic, tinged with anxiety.
The relationship between private business and government remains unsolved and problematical.
The following pairs of adjectives have similar meanings:
cyclic - cyclical, egoistic - egoistical, egotistic - egotistical, fanatic - fanatical, geographic - geographical, geometric - geometrical, ironic - ironical, logistic - logistical, mystic - mystical, problematic - problematical, rhythmic - rhythmical, syntactic - syntactical
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◊ other '-ic' adjectives
Some adjectives not mentioned above consist of a noun with `-ic' on the end. The adjective indicates that something is connected with the thing referred to by the noun. For example, if a drink is `alcoholic', it contains alcohol, something that is `magnetic' is like a magnet and causes metal objects to stick to it.
Daniel laughed with idiotic pleasure.
He took a carving knife from a magnetic board on the wall.
Sometimes it may not be very clear what noun an `-ic' adjective is related to. For example, `ironic' is related to `irony', not to `iron'; `organic' means `relating to organisms' (living things), not `relating to an organ'; and `manic' means `very energetic or excited', not `relating to a man'.
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