antediluvian

American  

[an-tee-di-loo-vee-uhn] / ˌæn ti dɪˈlu vi ən /

adjective

1. of or belonging to the period before the Biblical Flood.

2. very old, old-fashioned, or out of date; antiquated; primitive.

   antediluvian ideas.

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noun

1. a person who lived before the Biblical Flood.

2. a very old or old-fashioned person or thing.

antediluvian British  

/ ˌæntɪdɪˈluːvɪən, -daɪ- /

adjective

1. belonging to the ages before the biblical Flood (Genesis 7, 8)

2. old-fashioned or antiquated

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noun

1. an antediluvian person or thing

Etymology

Origin of antediluvian

First recorded in 1640–50; ante- + Latin dīluvi(um) “a flood, deluge” + -an; deluge

Example Sentences

Of all the units that measure all the things, Scoville heat units have got to be the most antediluvian.

From Washington Post • Aug. 31, 2022

Microsoft released the first version of Internet Explorer in 1995, the antediluvian era of web surfing dominated by the first widely popular browser, Netscape Navigator.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 2022

So, $23.7 billion annually to renovate an antediluvian water system?

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2021

Michael Pollan describes this as a kind of antediluvian experience, a return to paradise before science and technology pushed us “toward the objectification of nature and of all species other than our own.”

From Slate • Sep. 21, 2021

“Oh! if Ja-bol-he-moth,” he suddenly exclaimed with a fierce earnestness, “if Ja-bol-he-moth and other great antediluvian giants could only escape from their imprisonment, we would soon transform the whole earth to our liking.”

From In Both Worlds by Holcombe, William Henry