Meaning & use

antiquity

noun·Academic

The distant past, especially the era of ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome.

See it in a sentence

Scholars study the myths of antiquity to understand how ancient societies viewed the world.

The statue's antiquity was confirmed by carbon dating the surrounding soil.

A note on using this word

Antiquity can mean either the historical period or the quality of being very old, depending on context.

Words with a similar meaning

ancient times

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

Words with an opposite meaning

modernity

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