Dictionary entry details
• OLD (noun)
Meaning:
Past times (especially in the phrase 'in days of old')
Classified under:
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations
Hypernyms ("old" is a kind of...):
past; past times; yesteryear; yore (the time that has elapsed)
• OLD (adjective)
Meaning:
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
Context examples:
an old man's eagle mind / his mother is very old / a ripe old age / how old are you?
Similar:
gray; gray-haired; gray-headed; grey; grey-haired; grey-headed; grizzly; hoar; hoary; white-haired (showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair)
middle-aged (being roughly between 45 and 65 years old)
nonagenarian (being from 90 to 99 years old)
octogenarian (being from 80 to 89 years old)
oldish (somewhat elderly)
over-the-hill; overage; overaged; superannuated (too old to be useful)
retired; superannuated (discharged as too old for use or work; especially with a pension)
sexagenarian (being from 60 to 69 years old)
venerable (impressive by reason of age)
emeritus; retired (honorably retired from assigned duties and retaining your title along with the additional title 'emeritus' as in 'professor emeritus'; 'retired from assigned duties' need not imply that one is inactive)
doddering; doddery; gaga; senile (mentally or physically infirm with age)
darkened ((of fabrics and paper) grown dark in color over time)
aged; elderly; older; senior (advanced in years; ('aged' is pronounced as two syllables))
aged; of age (having attained a specific age; ('aged' is pronounced as one syllable))
ageing; aging; senescent (growing old)
ancient (very old)
anile (of or like a feeble old woman)
centenarian (being at least 100 years old)
Also:
mature (having reached full natural growth or development)
experienced; experient (having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation)
senior (older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service)
Attribute:
age (how long something has existed)
Antonym:
young ((used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth)
Meaning:
Of long duration; not new
Context examples:
old tradition / old house / old wine / old country / old friendships / old money
Similar:
hand-down; hand-me-down (passed on from one person to another)
hoary; rusty (ancient)
immemorial (long past; beyond the limits of memory or tradition or recorded history)
long-ago (belonging to time long gone)
longtime (of long duration)
patched (mended usually clumsily by covering a hole with a patch)
cold; stale (no longer new; uninteresting)
auld (a Scottish word)
antique (made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age)
antediluvian; antiquated; archaic (so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period)
age-old; antique (belonging to or lasting from times long ago)
sunset (of a declining industry or technology)
yellow; yellowed (changed to a yellowish color by age)
secondhand; used (previously used or owned by another)
Also:
past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)
worn (affected by wear; damaged by long use)
nonmodern (not modern; of or characteristic of an earlier time)
stale (showing deterioration from age)
noncurrent (not current or belonging to the present time)
Attribute:
age (how long something has existed)
Antonym:
new (not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered)
Meaning:
(used for emphasis) very familiar
Context examples:
good old boy / same old story
Similar:
familiar (well known or easily recognized)
Meaning:
Just preceding something else in time or order
Synonyms:
previous; old
Context examples:
the previous owner / my old house was larger
Similar:
preceding (existing or coming before)
Meaning:
Of a very early stage in development
Context examples:
Old English is also called Anglo Saxon / Old High German is High German from the middle of the 9th to the end of the 11th century
Similar:
early (of an early stage in the development of a language or literature)
Domain category:
linguistics (the scientific study of language)
Meaning:
Old in experience
Synonyms:
older; old
Context examples:
an old offender / the older soldiers
Similar:
experienced; experient (having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation)
Meaning:
Belonging to some prior time
Synonyms:
erstwhile; onetime; quondam; sometime; former; old
Context examples:
erstwhile friend / our former glory / the once capital of the state / her quondam lover
Similar:
past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)
Meaning:
(used informally especially for emphasis)
Synonyms:
honest-to-god; honest-to-goodness; sure-enough; old
Context examples:
a real honest-to-god live cowboy / had us a high old time / went upriver to look at a sure-enough fish wheel
Similar:
echt; genuine (not fake or counterfeit)
