antediluvian

[an-tee-di-loo-vee-uh n]

See more synonyms for antediluvian on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of or belonging to the period before the Flood. Gen. 7, 8.
very old, old-fashioned, or out of date; antiquated; primitive: antediluvian ideas.

noun

a person who lived before the Flood.
a very old or old-fashioned person or thing.

Origin of antediluvian

1640–50; ante- + Latin dīluvi(um) a flood, deluge + -an

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for antediluvian

antique, primitive, ancient, old, antiquated, archaic, hoary, obsolete, old-fashioned, primeval, primordial, timeworn, venerable, age-old

Examples from the Web for antediluvian

Contemporary Examples of antediluvian

Put aside an invincibly ignorant Rick Perry or the antediluvian Ron Paul, who would abolish the Fed altogether.
Can Ben Bernanke, Like John Roberts, Ignore Political Pressure and Do His Job?
Robert Shrum
July 17, 2012
“Through Cain came all the smart, educated people down to the antediluvian ﬂood—the intellectuals, bible colleges,” Branham wrote.
Inside Sarah's Church
Max Blumenthal
September 5, 2009

Historical Examples of antediluvian

You do not see the antediluvian kingdom, that of Sesostris and that of Semiramis?
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
The one school is of an Antediluvian, the other of a Christian race.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 360, October 1845
Various
The three Miss Murgatroyds—oh, Jane, they are so antediluvian and quaint!
The Mistress of Shenstone
Florence L. Barclay
These were the keys which unlocked the treasures of the antediluvian world for me.
Story of My Life
Helen Keller
Observe the “antediluvian” shape of the bat—no paddings on the legs.
Pickwickian Manners and Customs
Percy Fitzgerald

British Dictionary definitions for antediluvian

antediluvian

adjective

belonging to the ages before the biblical Flood (Genesis 7, 8)
old-fashioned or antiquated

noun

an antediluvian person or thing

Word Origin for antediluvian

C17: from ante- + Latin dīluvium flood

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for antediluvian

adj.

"before Noah's flood," 1640s, formed from Latin ante- "before" (see ante) + diluvium "a flood" (see deluge (n.)). Coined by English physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682). As a noun meaning "person who lived before the Flood," from 1680s.