Synonyms for ancient
ˈeɪn ʃəntan·cient

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:2.9 / 7 votes

1. ancientnoun

   Antonyms:
   modern

2. ancientnoun

   Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age; very old.

   Antonyms:
   modern

3. ancientadjective

   Existent or occurring in time long past, usually in remote ages; belonging to or associated with antiquity; old, as opposed to modern.

   Antonyms:
   modern

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.4 / 5 votes

1. ancient

   Antique refers to an ancient, antiquated to a discarded style. Antique is that which is either ancient in fact or ancient in style. The reference is to the style rather than to the age. We can speak of the antique architecture of a church just built. The difference between antiquated and antique is not in the age, for a Puritan style may be scorned as antiquated, while a Roman or Renaissance style may be prized as antique. The antiquated is not so much out of date as out of vogue. Old-fashioned may be used approvingly or contemptuously. In the latter case it becomes a synonym for antiquated; in the good sense it approaches the meaning of antique, but indicates less duration. We call a wide New England fireplace old-fashioned; a coin of the Cæsars, antique. Quaint combines the idea of age with a pleasing oddity; as, a quaint gambrel-roofed house. Antiquated is sometimes used of persons in a sense akin to superannuated. The antiquated person is out of style and out of sympathy with the present generation by reason of age; the superannuated person is incapacitated for present activities by reason of age. Compare OLD.

   Synonyms:
   antiquated, antique, old-fashioned, quaint, superannuated

   Antonyms:
   fashionable, fresh, modern, modish, new, recent, stylish

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ancient

   Synonyms:
   old, antiquated, oldfashioned, antique, obsolete, old-time, aged, primeval, primordial, immemorial, time-honored

   Antonyms:
   new, young, modern, juvenile, upstart, fresh, parvenu

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ancient, antediluviannoun

   a very old person

   Synonyms:
   antediluvian, antediluvian patriarch

   Antonyms:
   present(a), young, immature, future

2. ancientadjective

   a person who lived in ancient times

   Synonyms:
   antediluvian

   Antonyms:
   future, present(a), immature, young

3. ancientadjective

   belonging to times long past especially of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire

   "ancient history"; "ancient civilizations such as those of the Etruscans and Sumerians"; "ancient Greece"

   Antonyms:
   immature, future, present(a), young

4. ancientadjective

   very old

   "an ancient mariner"

   Antonyms:
   young, future, present(a), immature

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. antiqued

   antiqued means old fashioned, produced in a former period

   an antiqued door

   Submitted by rinat on June 1, 2017  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. ancientadjective

   Synonyms:
   old, primitive, pristine, OLDEN, of old time, not modern

2. ancientadjective

   Synonyms:
   of great age, of long duration

3. ancientadjective

   Synonyms:
   antiquated, antique, archaic, obsolete, by-gone, old-fashioned, out of fashion, out of date, gone by

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ancientadjective

   Synonyms:
   old, antiquated, archaic, antique, pristine, primitive, archæan

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "ancient":

   old, former, antique, age-old, antigua, ancestral, antiquity, immemorial, archeological, longtime, long-standing, elders, centuries-old, ku, archaic, gu, archaeological, old-growth

Suggested Resources

1. ancient

   Song lyrics by ancient -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ancient on the Lyrics.com website.

How to pronounce ancient?

How to say ancient in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use ancient in a sentence?

1. John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 1961:

   Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today, at home and around the world!

2. Thomas Merton:

   I am willing to admit that some people might live there for years, or even a lifetime, so protected that they never sense the sweet stench of corruption that is all around them -- the keen, thin scent of decay that pervades everything and accuses with a terrible accusation the superficial youthfulness, the abounding undergraduate noise, that fills those ancient buildings.

3. Jeffrey Thompson:

   We carried out a number of analyses to work out whether Sollasina was more closely related to sea cucumbers or sea urchins, to our surprise, the results suggest it was an ancient sea cucumber. This helps us understand the changes that occurred during the early evolution of the group, which ultimately gave rise to the slug-like forms we see today.

4. Val Curtis:

   Disgust evolved to protect us from disease in our ancient past. The disgust response today may, or may not, be a good guide to what might make us sick today.

5. Robert Blumenschine:

   Not only is Africa the storehouse of the ancient fossil heritage for people the world over, it was also the wellspring of everything that makes us human, including our technological prowess, our artistic ability and our supreme intellect.