antique
Americanadjective
-
of or belonging to the past; not modern.
-
dating from a period long ago.
antique furniture.
- Synonyms:
- obsolescent, obsolete, old
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noting or pertaining to automobiles approximately 25 years old or more.
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in the tradition, fashion, or style of an earlier period; old-fashioned; antiquated.
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of or belonging to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
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(of paper) neither calendered nor coated and having a rough surface.
noun
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any work of art, piece of furniture, decorative object, or the like, created or produced in a former period, or, according to U.S. customs laws, 100 years before date of purchase.
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the antique style, usually Greek or Roman, especially in art.
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Printing. a style of type.
verb (used with object)
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to make or finish (something, especially furniture) in imitation of antiques.
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to emboss (an image, design, letters, or the like) on paper or fabric.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
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a decorative object, piece of furniture, or other work of art created in an earlier period, that is collected and valued for its beauty, workmanship, and age
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( as modifier )
an antique shop
-
-
any object made in an earlier period
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the style of ancient art, esp Greek or Roman art, or an example of it
adjective
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made in or in the style of an earlier period
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of or belonging to the distant past, esp of or in the style of ancient Greece or Rome
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informal old-fashioned; out-of-date
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archaic aged or venerable
-
(of paper) not calendered or coated; having a rough surface
verb
Synonym Usage
See ancient 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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antiquenessnoun
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subantiquenessnoun
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pseudoantiqueadjective
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quasi-antiqueadjective
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subantiqueadjective
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antiquelyadverb
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subantiquelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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antiquesimple
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antiquessimple
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have antiquedperfect
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has antiquedperfect
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are antiquingprogressive
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am antiquingprogressive
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is antiquingprogressive
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have been antiquingperfect progressive
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has been antiquingperfect progressive
Past
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antiquedsimple
-
had antiquedperfect
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was antiquingprogressive
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were antiquingprogressive
-
had been antiquingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of antique
1520–30; earlier also anticke (< Middle French antique ) < Latin antīiquus, antīicus in front, existing earler, ancient; cf. antic, posticum
Explanation
An antique is an old-fashioned thing, like a lamp from the sixties. Anything antique is old or at least old-ish. When you see the word antique, you know you're not going to hear about anything new or young. An antique is a nice, old piece of furniture, that's usually been well taken care of and costs more than something new. Shopping for antiques is called antiquing. Outside of antique shops, calling anything antique means it's out-of-date and useless — so if you wanted to be mean, you could call your grandparents antiques.
Vocabulary lists containing antique
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among the answers: a small ink-stained mahogany desk, an antique light bulb, a brown leather flight suit and a baseball jersey.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
Other items auctioned off were antique furnishings, sculptures, and paintings.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
A slightly sweet, oily scent, redolent of old workshops or antique paraffin lamps.
From BBC • May 3, 2026
It’s an arresting image that signals the production’s bold, stylized approach to this canonical text, often treated as an antique that requires only a feather duster to be brought back to life.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Most of the morning'd gone before I found the second antique shop.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
