Synonyms for ancient
- adjective
- noun
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Archaic — former; sometime
old, archaic, old-time, historical, primitive, primeval, immemorial, venerable, hoary, antiquated, primordial, past, aboriginal, aged, former, old-fashioned, obsolete, pristine, grey UK, gray US, olden dated, eldern rare, aald rare UK
Noun
antediluvian, antique, forerunner, senior citizen, ensign, geriatric, antecessor dated, oldster rare
Definitions
- adj. 1
Former; sometime.
- n. 1
A person who is very old.
Related words
- Word family
- anciently ancientness
- Phrases
- ancient alien ancient astronaut ancient regime ancient times
Forms
- Plural
- ancients → antediluvians, antiques, forerunners, ensigns…
Choose the right word
Antique refers to an ancient, antiquated to a discarded style. Antique is that which is either ancient in fact or ancient in style.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- historical The Byzantine Empire is a historical construction.
- primitive Magic plays an important part in primitive society.
- archaic We inherited many of the genes of archaic humans.
- primeval Prehistoric man lived in the primeval forest.
- classical My sister likes classical music no less than I do.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| ancient | rising | |
| historical | rising | |
| primitive | falling | |
| archaic | steady | |
| primeval | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- old1
- 4 letters
- past1, aged1, grey1, gray1, aald
- 5 letters
- olden2, hoary2
- 6 letters
- former2, ensign2, eldern
- 7 letters
- antique2, archaic3, oldster2
- 8 letters
- obsolete3, pristine2, primeval3
- 9 letters
- classical3, primitive3, venerable4, geriatric4
- 10 letters
- historical4, aboriginal5, antiquated4, primordial4, forerunner3, immemorial5, antecessor
- 12 letters
- antediluvian
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (olden2 = 2 syllables).