venerable
adjective
ven·er·a·ble
ˈve-nər(-ə)-bəl 
ˈven-rə-bəl
1
a
: calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments
a venerable jazz musician
broadly
: conveying an impression of aged goodness and benevolence
encouraged by the venerable doctor's head-nodding
b
: impressive by reason of age
under venerable pines
2
: deserving to be venerated
—used as a title for an Anglican archdeacon or for a Roman Catholic who has been accorded the lowest of three degrees of recognition for sanctity
3
: made sacred especially by religious or historical association
Examples of venerable in a Sentence
[Julie] Powell never met Julia Child (who died last year), but the venerable chef's spirit is present throughout, and Powell imaginatively reconstructs episodes from Child's life in the 1940s. Her writing is feisty and unrestrained, especially as she details killing lobsters, tackling marrowbones and cooking late into the night.
—
Publishers Weekly, 13 June 2005
Under her stewardship, the onetime boardinghouse came to be heralded as the South's most venerable family restaurant, a reliquary of old-fashioned cooking—collard greens enriched with fatback, creamed corn straight from the cob, fried chicken with a pepper-flecked crust—where the tables groaned beneath the weight of a quintessential midday repast, and history stood still on the plate for all to admire.
—John T. Edge, Gourmet, January 2003
The lower the P/E, as a rough rule of thumb, the cheaper the stock. Though this guide to value has lots of exceptions, it remains a venerable market benchmark.
—Jonathan Weil, Wall Street Journal, 21 Aug. 2001
I then descended to the Courts of justice, over which the judges, those venerable sages and interpreters of the law, presided, for determining the disputed rights and properties of men, as well as for the punishment of vice, and protection of innocence.
—Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, 1726
the venerable old man was a cherished source of advice and wisdom for the villagers
a venerable tradition that colleges have been maintaining for centuries
Publishers Weekly, 13 June 2005
Under her stewardship, the onetime boardinghouse came to be heralded as the South's most venerable family restaurant, a reliquary of old-fashioned cooking—collard greens enriched with fatback, creamed corn straight from the cob, fried chicken with a pepper-flecked crust—where the tables groaned beneath the weight of a quintessential midday repast, and history stood still on the plate for all to admire.
—John T. Edge, Gourmet, January 2003
The lower the P/E, as a rough rule of thumb, the cheaper the stock. Though this guide to value has lots of exceptions, it remains a venerable market benchmark.
—Jonathan Weil, Wall Street Journal, 21 Aug. 2001
I then descended to the Courts of justice, over which the judges, those venerable sages and interpreters of the law, presided, for determining the disputed rights and properties of men, as well as for the punishment of vice, and protection of innocence.
—Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, 1726
the venerable old man was a cherished source of advice and wisdom for the villagers
a venerable tradition that colleges have been maintaining for centuries
Recent Examples on the Web
Photoshop still includes the venerable Lasso, Magic Wand, and Marquee, as well as the Object and Quick selection tools (with their cool Subject Select checkbox).
—PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
At Baur au Lac, Zurich's grandest hotel, contemporary art has been installed behind the reception, the wood panelling spruced up and its venerable newsstand removed.
—Bill Prince, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024
The Rule of 3's latest event, Newton County Mentality, took place in and around Horseshoe Canyon Ranch this past weekend as well as the venerable Beast of Burden endurance race to raise money to help maintain the trails at Kessler Mountain...
Already a subscriber?
—Kai Caddy Nwa Media, arkansasonline.com, 5 Nov. 2024
The long history of the venerable Dow Jones Industrial Average dates back approximately 130 years.
—Joel Shulman, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for venerable 
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PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
At Baur au Lac, Zurich's grandest hotel, contemporary art has been installed behind the reception, the wood panelling spruced up and its venerable newsstand removed.
—Bill Prince, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024
The Rule of 3's latest event, Newton County Mentality, took place in and around Horseshoe Canyon Ranch this past weekend as well as the venerable Beast of Burden endurance race to raise money to help maintain the trails at Kessler Mountain...
Already a subscriber?
—Kai Caddy Nwa Media, arkansasonline.com, 5 Nov. 2024
The long history of the venerable Dow Jones Industrial Average dates back approximately 130 years.
—Joel Shulman, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for venerable
Dictionary Entries Near venerable
Cite this Entry
“Venerable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/venerable. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
venerable
adjective
ven·er·a·ble
ˈven-ər(-ə)-bəl
ˈven-rə-bəl
1
: deserving to be venerated
—often used as a religious title
2
: deserving honor or respect
a venerable leader
3
: impressive by reason of age
venerable pines
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