1
as in venerable
dating or surviving from the distant past
Rome's ancient ruins remain carefully preserved even in the midst of the bustle of the modern city
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in older
being of advanced years and especially past middle age
used to think that age 40 was ancient until I turned 40 myself
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in primitive
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period
the ancient Inca built a vast network of roads
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in elder
a person of advanced years
ancients in the tribe are accorded great respect and valued for their wisdom
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ancient
Time, 26 Mar. 2025
Gibson is also expected to shoot the sequel in other ancient Southern Italian rural locations, including Ginosa, Gravina Laterza and Altamura.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 26 Mar. 2025
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2025
No full moons, no silver bullets, no ancients curses and the like, just a title card at the beginning of the film stating that wolf man sightings have been a phenomenon since indigenious peoples ruled the Americas.
—Scott Phillips, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ancient
Adjective
Advertisement An ancient Buddhist temple, houses, factories and vehicles were among the structures destroyed in the wildfires that have burned 43,330 acres, the government’s emergency response center said.
—Time, 26 Mar. 2025
Gibson is also expected to shoot the sequel in other ancient Southern Italian rural locations, including Ginosa, Gravina Laterza and Altamura.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
Read More: These 5 Ancient Civilizations Treasured Their Pets
Coping with Critters
The discovery of archeological remains has helped scientists better understand how ancients coped with bothersome critters.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2025
No full moons, no silver bullets, no ancients curses and the like, just a title card at the beginning of the film stating that wolf man sightings have been a phenomenon since indigenious peoples ruled the Americas.
—Scott Phillips, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ancient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancient
Adjective
-
Truth be told, as welcome as the choice was to fans as a relative novelty, that opener was not one of the better selections of the night; their arrangement felt relatively sluggish, compared to probably any other version of the venerable rock standard any audience member has heard over the years.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2025
-
On stage at Chicago Shakespeare’s Yard theater, the familiar iconography of the jukebox musical, a venerable Anglo-American genre, is being rehearsed.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
-
Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Noun
-
There’s a lot going on in your 40s: raising a family, paying a mortgage, shuttling kids to and from activities, caring for elders—all while working.—
Lina Storm,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
-
Wilmore, an elder in his Baptist church, is excited to resume face-to-face ministry and enjoy the scent of fresh-cut grass.—
Amanda Castro,
Newsweek,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
At Chloé, the faux fur tassels and antique gold talisman charms successfully transitioned the brand’s bohemian energy from spring to fall.—
Sandra Salibian,
WWD,
17 Mar. 2025
-
Loveless is drawn to antique mirrors for a variety of reasons.—
Sarah Lyon,
Southern Living,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The other part of him, the innie, is for all intents and purposes 2 1/2 years old.—
Gary Levin,
USA TODAY,
1 Mar. 2025
-
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were the only players to hit that mark at 28 years old.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Permafrost—stable for millennia—is now thawing at an accelerating pace, breaking open microbial vaults from a prehistoric world.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
-
The arrowhead, found in a pit alongside other prehistoric features, was meticulously carved from flint using a technique called knapping.—
Stories by Real-Time news team, with AI summarization,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The adults—the teachers, the cops—are overwhelmed, ineffective, dazed.—
Doreen St. Félix,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Now preserved for future generations as part of the state park system, this retro roadside attraction costs just $13 for adults and $8 for children to enter and enjoy, a far cry from the cost of a ticket to Disney.—
Kelsey Glennon,
Southern Living,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The History of Traditional Sitting Rooms The concept of a formal sitting room dates all the way back to medieval monasteries, where monks used these spaces to conduct business with visitors and laypeople.—
Shivani Vyas,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Mar. 2025
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Since 2019, leaders in the small Italian town of Avezzano in the Abruzzo region have been calling on the Louvre museum in Paris to return a medieval stone bas-relief that was once part of their local church, San Nicola, which was destroyed in a 1915 earthquake, reports Le Journal des Arts.—
The Editors of ARTnews,
ARTnews.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ancient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancient. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
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