Meaning & use
ancient
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
From a time very long ago, especially before the Middle Ages.
Grammar: Used before a noun: ancient Rome.
Patterns
- ancient history
Archaeologists uncovered an ancient temple.
We studied ancient Egypt in school.
The ancient ruins draw many visitors.
adjectivecomparableinformalhumorous
Very old, often in a humorous or exaggerated way.
Grammar: Informal: my phone is ancient.
My laptop is positively ancient.
He drives an ancient truck.
That joke is ancient.
nounpluralliterary
People who lived in the distant past, such as the Greeks and Romans.
Grammar: Used with the: the ancients.
Patterns
- the ancients
The ancients tracked the stars carefully.
Writers like Seneca influenced the ancients.
The ancients built roads that still exist.
Word forms
| comparative | more ancient |
|---|---|
| superlative | most ancient |
Common combinations
- ancient history
- That argument is ancient history now.
- ancient civilization
- The ancient civilization built great cities.
- ancient ruins
- We hiked to the ancient ruins.
- ancient times
- People used this herb in ancient times.
- ancient forest
- The ancient forest is protected.
Synonyms and how they differ
- old
- Old is the general word for something that has existed a long time, while ancient suggests the distant past.
- antique
- Antique means an old item with collecting value, while ancient refers to a much earlier period.
- prehistoric
- Prehistoric means from before writing, which is older than most things called ancient.
- archaic
- Archaic describes something outdated or no longer used.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: ancient or antique?
ancient vs antique
Antique is an old valuable object, while ancient is from the far past.
Practice
The museum has a collection of ______ Greek pottery.
Choose one answer.
Ancient Greek refers to the distant past. Modernist, fresh and recent do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ancient”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.