variants
also anachronic
as in obsolete
belonging to an earlier time period
The fashions that were all the rage just five years ago seem like anachronistic leftovers today.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 anachronistic
At least one Supreme Court justice has openly criticized the exemption as anachronistic and has voiced a position that suggested the court might seize on the opportunity to end the exemption.
—
Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Mar. 2026
The camera lingers on dripping egg yolks and squishy, bubbling dough; the protagonist, Cathy Earnshaw (played by Margot Robbie), must wade through pig’s blood on her way to the moors near her home, leaving a trim of viscera on her gorgeously anachronistic dress.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026
The show has reveled in its intentionally anachronistic music, casting, and costume choices.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2026
But creator Chris Van Dusen, showrunner Jess Brownell, and their Shondaland team have consistently found ways to make their show’s anachronistic Regency setting more reflective of the world contemporary fans live in.
—Judy Berman, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
Google endured several embarrassing product debuts, when its Bard chatbot and then its successor Gemini models got facts wrong, recommended glue as a pizza topping, and generated images of historically anachronistic Black Nazis.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
While Lady Jane Grey's real historical reign was cut short by a wrongful execution, Emily Bader's anachronistic character skirts around the guillotine but is still roped into marrying Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel) — an Ethian who transforms into a horse — and being crowned queen overnight.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026
That was the barometer with me and Jen—timeless, timeless, timeless; no anachronistic faces.
—Jordan Hoffman, Vanity Fair, 25 Dec. 2025
Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Mar. 2026
The camera lingers on dripping egg yolks and squishy, bubbling dough; the protagonist, Cathy Earnshaw (played by Margot Robbie), must wade through pig’s blood on her way to the moors near her home, leaving a trim of viscera on her gorgeously anachronistic dress.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026
The show has reveled in its intentionally anachronistic music, casting, and costume choices.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2026
But creator Chris Van Dusen, showrunner Jess Brownell, and their Shondaland team have consistently found ways to make their show’s anachronistic Regency setting more reflective of the world contemporary fans live in.
—Judy Berman, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
Google endured several embarrassing product debuts, when its Bard chatbot and then its successor Gemini models got facts wrong, recommended glue as a pizza topping, and generated images of historically anachronistic Black Nazis.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
While Lady Jane Grey's real historical reign was cut short by a wrongful execution, Emily Bader's anachronistic character skirts around the guillotine but is still roped into marrying Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel) — an Ethian who transforms into a horse — and being crowned queen overnight.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026
That was the barometer with me and Jen—timeless, timeless, timeless; no anachronistic faces.
—Jordan Hoffman, Vanity Fair, 25 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anachronistic
Adjective
-
If a data center is shut down and the building is set to become something else, the data center’s owner would be required to remove all obsolete equipment like chillers and generators from the site.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The cars are new, the engines are new, the rules are new, and the pecking order that Lando Norris mastered last season may already be obsolete.—
The Athletic,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The nightly viewership of the somewhat antiquated TV format can no longer justify the expense — at least, that’s the roundabout reason CBS gave for canceling The Late Show.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Mar. 2026
-
By Con Ed’s rationale, rock salt was to blame, not its antiquated and poorly maintained infrastructure.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For spring 2026, the Moon Shoe gets a color palette cleanser—with pale pastel pink, creamy white, and dusty brown tones—departing from the first drop’s vintage athletic feel, spotted on everyone from Dua Lipa to Jacob Elordi, since late September.—
Kristina Rutkowski,
Vogue,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Perhaps most famously, Gosling rocked three vintage gold Carreras at once while playing Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The elevator delivers you to the lobby, where hanging textiles in warm ocher tones serve as the signature art piece, dyed using dorozome, a traditional mud-dyeing technique, with soil from the building site itself.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The board denied renewal of Green Dot Locke High charter by a 4-3 vote, citing lower performance compared to traditional schools.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Add in Paul Mescal's solid turn as an absent Bard dad who deals with the loss in his own way, plus a cathartic final act, and director Chloé Zhao's gut-wrenching historical drama has a good chance of placing high on a lot of Oscar voters' lists.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The owner of the hoard remains a mystery According to historical records, 24 households were situated on the block where the coins were left.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For an overnight stay, the Cedar Key Bed & Breakfast offers a place to lay your head close to the historic downtown.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
-
My bridal shower will be taking place at a historic inn, on a crystal blue Finger Lake in Upstate New York, at the end of April.—
Alexandra Ditch,
Vogue,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Anachronistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anachronistic. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
