Synonyms for old
- adjective
- noun
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Former
former, past, erstwhile, one-time, early, historical, prior, preceding, quondam formal, whilom, olden dated
2. Not bad
not bad, great, gurt UK, neat, groovy, dandy, bully, keen, slap-up informal, sagacious formal, peachy, cracking, smashing, bang-up informal, corking, swell, nifty informal dated
3. Elderly
elderly, aged, antiquated, ancient, venerable, hoary, antique, superannuated, decrepit, age-old, senile, grey UK, gray US, old-fashioned, worn-out, obsolete, over-age, archaic, on in years, time-worn, antediluvian, outdated, doddering
Noun
Definitions
- adj. 1
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
an old abandoned building
- adj. 2
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.
- adj. 3
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. Of a perishable item, having existed for most of, or more than, its shelf life.
- n. 1
A person older than oneself, especially an adult in relation to a teenager.
I'm not letting an old wreck my good time today.
Forms
- Plural
- olds → geezers, wrinklies, oldies, veterans…
Choose the right word
That which is late is somewhat removed from the present, but not far enough to be called old. New is opposed to old, modern to ancient, recent to remote, young to old, aged, etc.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- former The Coliseum was the former arena in ancient Rome.
- historical The Byzantine Empire is a historical construction.
- great A great scholar is not necessarily a good teacher.
- elderly It seems a shawl for the elderly in that position!
By length
- 3 letters
- aud1
- 4 letters
- used1, past1, aged1, grey1, gray1, keen1, neat1, gurt
- 5 letters
- great1, early2, prior2, bully2, swell1, dandy2, nifty2, olden2, oldie2, hoary2
- 6 letters
- former2, senior2, yellow2, groovy2, senile2, peachy2, geezer, whilom
- 7 letters
- ancient2, elderly3, veteran3, antique2, archaic3, wrinkly, corking2, quondam, oldster2
- 8 letters
- previous3, cracking2, smashing2, outdated3, obsolete3, decrepit3
- 9 letters
- practiced2, preceding3, venerable4, practised2, erstwhile2, sagacious, doddering3
- 10 letters
- historical4, antiquated4
- 11 letters
- experienced4
- 12 letters
- antediluvian
- 13 letters
- superannuated
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (early2 = 2 syllables).