venerable

adjective ven·er·a·ble \ ˈve-nər(-ə)-bəl , ˈven-rə-bəl \

|Updated on: 15 Jul 2018

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Examples: venerable in a Sentence

Definition of venerable

1 a : calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments

a venerable jazz musician

; broadly : conveying an impression of aged goodness and benevolence

encouraged by the venerable doctor's head-nodding

b : impressive by reason of age

under venerable pines

2 : deserving to be venerated —used as a title for an Anglican archdeacon or for a Roman Catholic who has been accorded the lowest of three degrees of recognition for sanctity

3 : made sacred especially by religious or historical association

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venerability

play \ˌve-nə-rə-ˈbi-lə-tē, ˌven-rə-\ noun

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venerableness

play \ˈve-nər(-ə)-bəl-nəs, ˈven-rə-\ noun

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venerably

play \ˈve-nər(-ə)-blē, ˈven-rə-\ adverb

See venerable defined for English-language learners

See venerable defined for kids

Examples of venerable in a Sentence

[Julie] Powell never met Julia Child (who died last year), but the venerable chef's spirit is present throughout, and Powell imaginatively reconstructs episodes from Child's life in the 1940s. Her writing is feisty and unrestrained, especially as she details killing lobsters, tackling marrowbones and cooking late into the night. —Publishers Weekly, 13 June 2005
Under her stewardship, the onetime boardinghouse came to be heralded as the South's most venerable family restaurant, a reliquary of old-fashioned cooking—collard greens enriched with fatback, creamed corn straight from the cob, fried chicken with a pepper-flecked crust—where the tables groaned beneath the weight of a quintessential midday repast, and history stood still on the plate for all to admire. —John T. Edge, Gourmet, January 2003
The lower the P/E, as a rough rule of thumb, the cheaper the stock. Though this guide to value has lots of exceptions, it remains a venerable market benchmark. —Jonathan Weil, Wall Street Journal, 21 Aug. 2001
I then descended to the Courts of justice, over which the judges, those venerable sages and interpreters of the law, presided, for determining the disputed rights and properties of men, as well as for the punishment of vice, and protection of innocence. —Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, 1726
the venerable old man was a cherished source of advice and wisdom for the villagers
a venerable tradition that colleges have been maintaining for centuries

Recent Examples of venerable from the Web

The band is still helmed by the venerable Denney brothers (front man John and guitarist Dix, the later of whom nearly replaced Hillel Slovak in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' early days), who founded the band in 1975.

— aaron davis, sacbee, "‘Stranger in Alps’ crooner brings intensity, intimacy to Harlow’s show," 12 July 2018
The aircraft is technically a current-generation update of the venerable Dash 8.

— ben mutzabaugh, USA TODAY, "End of an era: American ends turboprop flying with Dash 8 retirement," 9 July 2018
Looking to reverse dwindling membership, Church leaders are launching a new outreach to other Christian congregations, in a move that could bring some Holy Rolling, New World preaching styles to its venerable halls of stone and sacrament.

— robert stevens, The Christian Science Monitor, "Church of England's outreach effort may mean end of 'snobbishness'," 5 July 2018
Wrapping up the podcast, a flashback to the first American Top 40 countdown with Casey Kasem this week in 1970, as, for the first time, the venerable syndicated radio show brought the Hot 100 to music fans on a greater scale than ever before.

— gary trust, Billboard, "Chart Beat Podcast: Cardi B Hits No. 1 & WNEW's Mike Adam on Interviewing Kanye West & Barack Obama," 5 July 2018
As in previous years, the parade was led by Dykes on Bikes, San Francisco’s venerable group of lesbian motorcycle enthusiasts.

— NBC News, "Celebration, defiance mix at New York City gay pride parade," 25 June 2018
Del Frisco’s, part of the venerable national steakhouse chain, will open toward the latter part of the year, while the café and rooftop bar won’t debut until early 2019.

— michele parente, sandiegouniontribune.com, "'Power duo' chefs DiBiase, McCabe to lead InterContinental's culinary offerings," 21 June 2018
Head to West Philly for Pakistani kebabs and Lebanese pastries, a budding Chinatown West near Drexel and Penn, and explore near Baltimore Avenue for some of our venerable Ethiopian restaurants.

— craig laban, Philly.com, "Philly's best ethnic food neighborhoods | Craig LaBan," 4 June 2018
The venerable barbecue restaurant is closing the doors at its oldest location for good on Saturday.

— joey morona, cleveland.com, "Hot Sauce Williams on Carnegie closing for good this weekend," 28 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'venerable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of venerable

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin venerābilis "entitled to respect," from venerārī "to solicit the good will of (a deity), hold in awe, venerate" + -bilis "capable of (acting or being acted upon) — more at -able

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

venerable Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of venerable

old, ancient, venerable, antique, antiquated, archaic, obsolete mean having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past. old may apply to either actual or merely relative length of existence.