Ancient

/ˈeɪn.ʃənt/ · adjective

Meaning

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

Definitions by Sense

1. Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age, very old.
2. Existent or occurring in time long past, usually in remote ages; belonging to or associated with antiquity; old, as opposed to modern.
3. (history) Relating to antiquity as a primarily European historical period; the time before the Middle Ages.
4. (obsolete) Experienced; versed.
5. (obsolete) Former; sometime.
6. A person who is very old.
7. A person who lived in ancient times.
8. (UK, law) One of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery.

Example Sentences

an ancient city

an ancient forest

[P]ut the Caſe that the Nobleman of the ancienter Family does not indeed diſgrace his Dignity, but adds nothing to it; having nothing extraordinary to recommend him or diſrecommend him: Whereas the other, by his perſonal Merit, has rais'd himſelf to an equal Dignity. Which of the two in this Suppoſition deſerves the greater Eſteem?

'I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,' the Chief was saying. 'An Alsatia like the ancient one behind the Strand, or the Saffron Hill before the First World War. They tell me there was a recognized swag-market down here.'

an ancient author

an ancient empire

Buried within the Mediterranean littoral are some seventy to ninety million tons of slag from ancient smelting, about a third of it concentrated in Iberia. This ceaseless industrial fueling caused the deforestation of an estimated fifty to seventy million acres of woodlands.

Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.

Synonyms for ancient

Antonyms for ancient

Related Words

Word Forms

• ancienter
• more ancient
• ancientest
• most ancient
• anchient
• aunchient
• auncient
• auntient
• awncient
• awntient
• ancyent
• antient
• ancients

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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