Synonyms of archaic

archaic

adjective

är-ˈkā-ik 

as in obsolete

having passed its time of use or usefulness

the company needs to update its archaic computer system

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obsolete
• antiquated
• medieval
• prehistoric
• rusty
• outmoded
• outdated
• old
• dated
• ancient
• out-of-date
• neolithic
• extinct
• useless
• outworn
• fossilized
• expired
• defunct
• moribund
• discarded
• mossy
• antique
• superannuated
• Stone Age
• passé
• historical
• historic
• vintage
• aging
• démodé
• obsolescent
• Noachian
• late
• unworkable
• unusable
• retro
• dead
• moth-eaten
• disused
• demoded
• antediluvian
• kaput
• vanished
• past
• venerable
• fusty
• old-fashioned
• inoperable
• latent
• inert
• dormant
• aged
• idle
• hoary
• musty
• inoperative
• old-time
• inactive
• former
• atavistic
• free
• bygone
• old-world
• fallow
• erstwhile
• age-old
• dateless
• oldfangled

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• modern
• new
• current
• contemporary
• recent
• present-day
• up-to-date
• newfangled
• fresh
• ultramodern
• mod
• modernized
• new-fashioned
• up-to-the-minute
• functional
• operational
• workable
• operating
• operable
• active
• operative
• functioning
• renewed
• busy
• employed
• refurbished
• remodeled
• alive

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective archaic differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of archaic are ancient, antiquated, antique, obsolete, old, and venerable. While all these words mean "having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past," archaic implies having the character or characteristics of a much earlier time.

the play used archaic language to convey a sense of period

When could ancient be used to replace archaic?

The meanings of ancient and archaic largely overlap; however, ancient applies to occurrence, existence, or use in or survival from the distant past.

ancient accounts of dragons

In what contexts can antiquated take the place of archaic?

The words antiquated and archaic can be used in similar contexts, but antiquated implies being discredited or outmoded or otherwise inappropriate to the present time.

antiquated teaching methods

When is it sensible to use antique instead of archaic?

Although the words antique and archaic have much in common, antique applies to what has come down from a former or ancient time.

collected antique Chippendale furniture

When is obsolete a more appropriate choice than archaic?

While in some cases nearly identical to archaic, obsolete may apply to something regarded as no longer acceptable or useful even though it is still in existence.

a computer that makes earlier models obsolete

When can old be used instead of archaic?

The words old and archaic are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, old may apply to either actual or merely relative length of existence.

old houses

an old sweater of mine

Where would venerable be a reasonable alternative to archaic?

The synonyms venerable and archaic are sometimes interchangeable, but venerable stresses the impressiveness and dignity of great age.

the family's venerable patriarch

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of archaic

More pointedly, Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt adds the grotesquerie of archaic beauty practices — both real and apocryphal — to create a feminist body-horror parable akin to last year’s The Substance. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025

The library’s holdings reach across time, from studies of archaic textiles in India and China to the industrial textile production of nineteenth-century Manchester. —Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025

Rolling out a simplified new labor code to replace the decades-old colonial one, the Indian government revealed and implemented on Friday a plan to consolidate 29 archaic regulations into four streamlined codes. —Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 27 Nov. 2025

Yet Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes, among others, insisted that Brown, whose archaic-modern style telescopes entire epochs into a few flinty lines, belongs among the major twentieth-century bards. —Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025