age 1 of 2

1
as in era
an extent of time associated with a particular person or thing the Bronze Age marks the beginning of the use of metal by ancient peoples

Synonyms & Similar Words

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age

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun age differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of age are epoch, era, and period. While all these words mean "a division of time," age is used frequently of a fairly definite period dominated by a prominent figure or feature.

the age of Samuel Johnson

When is it sensible to use epoch instead of age?

The words epoch and age are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, epoch applies to a period begun or set off by some significant or striking quality, change, or series of events.

the steam engine marked a new epoch in industry

When can era be used instead of age?

In some situations, the words era and age are roughly equivalent. However, era suggests a period of history marked by a new or distinct order of things.

the era of global communications

When might period be a better fit than age?

While the synonyms period and age are close in meaning, period may designate an extent of time of any length.

periods of economic prosperity

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of age
Noun
The researchers studied 1,591 individuals as part of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a cohort that studied children born in 1997 and 1998 through age 23. Greta Cross, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025 Workers who receive the $4,018 maximum full retirement age benefit in 2025 would have earned the taxable maximum in each year starting at age 22, according to the Social Security Administration. Lorie Konish, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
The album treads through womanhood, partnership, aging and dying, exposing the murky in the mundane. Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025 Of course, the whiskey industry is quite literally built upon foresight and prediction given that most whiskey will be aged for at least four years, and often about a decade. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 24 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for age
Recent Examples of Synonyms for age
Noun
  • The programs in the series were created in a collaboration with performance artists, and resulted in a group of surreal experimental works that pushed the boundaries of sound and narrative well in advance of the digital era.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Dark Renaissance will teach you a great deal about Marlowe’s brilliance and the Elizabethan era—its theater, the aristocracy, the spy craft, and the finer points of drawing and quartering religious dissidents.
    Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Told in gentle, bedtime-friendly verse, this magical tale follows two siblings who sneak out into the twilight to attend a most unusual dance performance.
    Caroline Carlson, Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Behold the golden-orange horizon over Kitt Peak National Observatory, a fiery twilight moment where day bows out and the stars prepare their grand entrance.
    Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • That move, however, allowed the giant exhibitor to fully redeem all of its 2026 debt maturities.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Then, as Saturn stations direct in your relationship sector, emotional maturity becomes nonnegotiable.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Her subsequent work includes Futura (2021), a collaborative documentary capturing the views of Italian teenagers, and La Chimera (2023), which follows a group of grave robbers dealing in Etruscan antiquities.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The tackier the better The dominant aesthetic of the administration comes not from antiquity but from AI slop, the tackier and more juvenile the better.
    Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Several of the production facilities that CNN analyzed have swiftly replaced villages and farmland, growing by tens of thousands of square feet in the past five years.
    Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Though George Washington and the press started off amicably, their relationship grew more adversarial once journalists began criticizing the nation’s first president.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Su told Fortune that Brockman’s insistence on thinking big was essential to making the deal—which sent AMD’s stock soaring 24% the day it was announced.
    Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The news comes a week after the school fired football head coach Brian Kelly and then former athletic director Scott Woodward a few days later.
    Chris Vannini, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • One way to mess with an option team’s Plan A is to not only stick them with third-and-forevers, but to put them in an early hole, making them throw out of desperation.
    Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2019
  • Printed with thermochromic ink, the stamp reveals a second image of the moon when a finger is pressed to it, and a sheet of 16 Forever stamps features a map of the eclipse path.
    Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2017
Noun
  • Hall could not be reached immediately for comment by telephone late Wednesday afternoon.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The Teton and Gros Ventre Mountains in Wyoming should prepare to see around 4 to 8 inches of snow and up to 12 inches in the highest parts of the Tetons overnight Wednesday through to Thursday afternoon.
    Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Age.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/age. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

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