ancient

¹ American  

[eyn-shuhnt] / ˈeɪn ʃənt /

adjective

1. of or in time long past, especially before the end of the Western Roman Empire a.d. 476.

   ancient history.

   Synonyms:

   early

   Antonyms:

   recent

2. dating from a remote period; of great age: ancient trees.

   ancient rocks;

   ancient trees.

   Synonyms:

   immemorial, age-old

   Antonyms:

   recent, modern, new

3. very old; aged.

   She's fifteen, which is ancient for a dog that size.

4. being old in wisdom and experience; venerable.

5. old-fashioned or antique.

   Synonyms:

   vintage, retro, old-time, old-fashioned, olden, antique

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noun

1. a person who lived in ancient times.

2. one of the classical writers of antiquity.

3. a very old or aged person, especially if venerable or patriarchal.

4. ancients,

   1. Usually the ancients the civilized peoples, nations, or cultures of antiquity, as the Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and Egyptians.

   2. the writers, artists, and philosophers of ancient times, especially those of Greece and Rome.

ancient ² American  

[eyn-shuhnt] / ˈeɪn ʃənt /

noun

Obsolete.

1. the bearer of a flag.

2. a flag, banner, or standard; ensign.

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ancient ¹ British  

/ ˈeɪnʃənt /

adjective

1. dating from very long ago

   ancient ruins

2. very old; aged

3. of the far past, esp before the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (476 _ad ) Compare medieval modern

4. law having existed since before the time of legal memory

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noun

1. (often plural) a member of a civilized nation in the ancient world, esp a Greek, Roman, or Hebrew

2. (often plural) one of the classical authors of Greek or Roman antiquity

3. archaic an old man

ancient ² British  

/ ˈeɪnʃənt /

noun

1. a flag or other banner; standard

2. a standard-bearer; ensign

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Synonym Usage

Ancient, antiquated, antique, old-fashioned refer to something dating from the past. Ancient implies existence or first occurrence in a distant past: an ancient custom. Antiquated connotes something too old or no longer useful: an antiquated building. Antique suggests a curious or pleasing quality in something old: antique furniture. Old-fashioned may disparage something as being out of date or may approve something old as being superior: an old-fashioned hat; old-fashioned courtesy.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ancientness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of ancient¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English auncien, from Anglo-French; Old French ancien, from unattested Vulgar Latin antiānus, equivalent to Latin ante(ā) “before”+ -ānus adjective suffix; late Middle English forms with -t- developed by confusion with the present participle ending -nt; see -an, ante-, -ent

Origin of ancient²

First recorded in 1550–60; variant of ensign by confusion with ancient ¹

Explanation

Ancient means very old. Sometimes there's a sense of "older than old." My grandmother, bless her soul, lived until she was positively ancient. Ancient art is that made in places and times we refer to as Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt, and "an ancient" is someone who lived either during those eras, or in a Biblical context, before the flood that brought us the story of Noah and the Ark.

Example Sentences

Amid this upheaval, he wanted to be sure that his son, Septimius, inherited the wisdom of the ancient Greeks—but doubted whether Septimius would have the patience to wade through a vast corpus of 1,000-year-old works.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Father Carlos Martins, for example, produces an Exorcist Files podcast with 40,000 followers on YouTube that promises to take viewers through his experiences “battling the ancient serpent in many forms.”

From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026

"Our analysis bridges ancient wisdom and modern science," said Han bixian, the first author of a review on the topic recently published in the Journal of Holistic Integrative Pharmacy.

From Science Daily • Jun. 7, 2026

It was among the first bands to hire Bill Whitten to create costumes mixing the iconography of ancient Egypt with Afrofuturism.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026

When she could speak, Mal gave a sigh that was as ancient as the forest.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Related Words

• age-old
• antique
• archaic
• hoary
• old-fashioned
• timeworn
• venerable