Meaning & use

ancient

adjective·Everyday

Belonging to a time very long ago.

See it in a sentence

The museum displays tools from an ancient settlement.

Researchers studied the remains of an ancient road.

A note on using this word

Ancient often refers to the distant past, especially early civilizations; in casual speech it can exaggerate how old something is.

Words with a similar meaning

very oldage-old

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

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