Meaning & use
antiquity
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Meanings
noununcountable
The ancient past, especially the time of early Greek and Roman civilization.
Grammar: Uncountable and often used with in: in antiquity, or classical antiquity.
Patterns
- in antiquity
- since antiquity
- from antiquity
Olive oil was already a valued trade good in antiquity.
The museum holds sculptures from classical antiquity.
Historians debate how people in antiquity measured time.
noununcountable
The quality of being very old.
Grammar: Uncountable: the antiquity of the manuscript.
Patterns
- the antiquity of something
- of great antiquity
Experts were amazed by the antiquity of the burial site.
The temple is of great antiquity.
Tests confirmed the antiquity of the vase.
nounusually plural
An object from ancient times, such as a coin, statue or tool.
Grammar: Usually plural: the museum sells no antiquities.
Patterns
- trade in antiquities
Customs officers seized several stolen antiquities.
He collects Roman antiquities.
Selling antiquities without a license is illegal in many countries.
Word forms
| plural | antiquities |
|---|
Common combinations
- classical antiquity
- She studied literature of classical antiquity.
- in antiquity
- Papyrus was widely used in antiquity.
- late antiquity
- The monastery dates from late antiquity.
- of great antiquity
- The custom is of great antiquity.
- stolen antiquities
- Police recovered stolen antiquities from a warehouse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ancient times
- Ancient times is the plain, spoken way to say it, while antiquity sounds more academic.
- relic
- A relic is a single old object, while antiquity can name a period or the quality of age.
- age
- Age states how old something is, but antiquity suggests that it is impressively old.
Opposites
Word family
- antique noun
- an old valuable object
- antiquated adjective
- too old-fashioned to be useful
- antiquarian noun
- someone who studies or collects old things
- ancient adjective
- belonging to the distant past
Commonly confused: antiquity or antique?
antiquity vs antique
An antique is a particular old object that people collect, while antiquity is the period or the quality of being old.
Practice
Roman roads were admired even in ___.
Choose one answer.
Antiquity means the ancient past, which fits Roman roads. Modernity is the opposite and would not suit the context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “antiquity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.