ARCHAISM Synonyms: 21 Similar and Opposite Words

archaism

noun

Definition of archaism

as in throwback

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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 archaism That phrase, which may strike some young American ears as an archaism if not an oxymoron, is worth unpacking, and Amis provides readers with a pocket account of the historical preconditions of his extravagant fame. — A.o. Scott, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2018 For the Latin American left, that vision has congealed into archaism. — The Economist, 12 Oct. 2017 But the main challenge for any translator is to remain true to Virgil without wrenching him into archaism or stiffness. — Willard Spiegelman, WSJ, 22 Sep. 2017 Full of archaisms, the language has a neo-Nabokovian extravagance, occasionally overindulgent. — Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for archaism

Noun

Nissan found a way to make the seventh-generation Z car even more of a throwback.

— Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 24 Sep. 2026
During Eden’s birth month in 2023, Brolin took a trip down memory lane with a throwback photo of the father-daughter duo.

— Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of throwback

Noun

Dreaming is every bit the delicious anachronism of its predecessors.

— Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2026
Greek culinary historian Mariana Kavroulaki pointed out that rather than making stews, characters in The Odyssey were mostly spit-roasting their proteins, though that’s something of an anachronism in the text.

— Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 July 2026

Definition of anachronism

Noun

In a statement, Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiquities Sherif Fathy emphasized that the discoveries not only shed light on the fortress’s military function but on the daily lives of its inhabitants.

— Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Her sculpture, cast in bronze and patinated with lapis lazuli blue—a pigment used in in north Africa, the Middle East, and Europe since antiquity—will remain in place for two years.

— News Desk, Artforum, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of antiquity

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archaic

archaism

archaisms

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“Archaism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archaism. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of archaism

noun

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