1
as in senior
a person of advanced years
in that Asian society elders are accorded great respect
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in ancestor
one who is older than another
it wouldn't hurt to show a little more respect for your elders
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in dean
the senior member of a group
as the elder of the contingent of living former presidents, he was accorded a place of highest honor at the ceremonies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of elder
The younger generation, broadly, is more online than its elders, and that includes the newest generation of service members, who are frequently reminded about things like tracking data and sharing information online that could unintentionally aid adversaries.
—
Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 28 May 2026
Dern replaced Carter as some sort of actress perhaps resenting her elder-stateswoman status.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 27 May 2026
For Obery Hendricks, an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church who teaches religion at Columbia University, the dissonance is both aesthetic and religious.
—Jason Derose, NPR, 26 May 2026
Often women are stressed in their work life and trying to balance their home lives and maybe taking care of kids and taking care of aging elders.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 23 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for elder
Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 28 May 2026
Dern replaced Carter as some sort of actress perhaps resenting her elder-stateswoman status.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 27 May 2026
For Obery Hendricks, an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church who teaches religion at Columbia University, the dissonance is both aesthetic and religious.
—Jason Derose, NPR, 26 May 2026
Often women are stressed in their work life and trying to balance their home lives and maybe taking care of kids and taking care of aging elders.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 23 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for elder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elder
Noun
-
Life can be isolating for seniors, especially when English isn’t their first language.—
Beth Lipoff,
Kansas City Star,
9 June 2026
-
Unless Congress makes changes by then, seniors will see an automatic cut in their monthly benefits of 22%, according to a report released Tuesday by Social Security Trustees.—
Scott Horsley,
NPR,
9 June 2026
Noun
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With the North Koreans and the Chinese military bearing down on Incheon in 1951, Casillas was ordered by his superiors to destroy all vital structures in Incheon to keep the infrastructure from falling into enemy hands.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
3 June 2026
-
Abts sent an email to his superiors, and a human resources supervisor, about Husband’s disturbing, uncharacteristic behavior.—
Dan Eaton,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Our ancestors—the hard-working, long-suffering peasant women who told these stories to each other and passed them down the generations through the oral tradition—knew everything there was to know about adversity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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The contest also encouraged students to think of ways to prevent water pollution, and how our ancestors may have loved to save water.—
Julie Gallant,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 June 2026
Noun
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Ayanna Howard, the dean of Ohio State University's engineering college and appointee to the federal government's National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, was chosen to be the next president of Spelman College in Atlanta, a historically Black liberal arts institution for women.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 June 2026
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Brenda McAleer, dean of the College of Professional Studies at the University of Maine at Augusta — which is preparing to offer a bachelor’s of applied public administration — said the degrees were designed for adults who already have some work experience or have taken some college courses.—
Emilia Otte,
Hartford Courant,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Enough with the oldsters, what about those kids?—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
4 June 2026
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With each passing day, its oldster cast — including Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, and Geena Davis — is closer to the grave.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
Online resale app Vinted is seeing a structural shift in consumer behaviour, as habits form around the resale economy, the company’s marketplace boss told CNBC on Monday.—
Elsa Ohlen,
CNBC,
9 June 2026
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Now, even a Gen Z hiring manager is backing the bosses who slam her generation after an interviewee FaceTimed her and demanded more money.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
Noun
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Voters in the June 16 Democratic runoff for insurance commissioner will choose between an Atlanta politician with a long record of public service but who is also in the midst of a significant campaign ethics probe or an industry veteran with two decades of experience but no time in office.—
Riley Bunch,
AJC.com,
4 June 2026
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Spencer, an Army veteran with no law enforcement experience, defeated Staley, a Republican who’d been in office for over 13 years.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Raya Elfadel Kheirbek is a professor of medicine and chief of the division of palliative medicine and geriatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.—
Raya Elfadel Kheirbek,
Washington Post,
17 May 2026
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What was shocking was that searches for novels about geriatrics period almost exclusively turned up women not very much older.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elder. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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