hoary

adjective

ˈhȯr-ē How to pronounce hoary (audio)
Definition of hoarynext
as in ancient
dating or surviving from the distant past hoary oak trees with dripping moss and gnarled limbs shaded us from the sun

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 hoary Connecticut’s three tree-roosting bat species include the eastern red, silver-haired, and hoary bats. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 22 Apr. 2026 That hoary image remains compelling. — Sam Lipsyte, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025 The most common species of bats found in Grand Teton National Park are little brown bats, followed by big brown, silver-haired, hoary, Yuma, long-legged, and long-eared bats, the agency said. — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2025 Ultimately, everyone’s happiness is denied, which makes for a cautionary critique of the hoary cliché of 1950s repression (the same falsification that was the basis of Todd Haynes’s drab lesbian drama Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara). — Armond White, National Review, 25 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hoary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoary
  1. ancient
  2. venerable
  3. old
  4. medieval
  5. antique
Adjective
  • Adding fuel to the debate is the discovery of ancient artifacts — texts, frescoes, tombstone inscriptions — that seem, to some, to depict women as priests in the early Catholic Church.
    — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The two genetic variants are also ancient, suggesting that the difference has persisted over evolutionary timescales.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of ancient
Adjective
  • Executive produced by Flanagan and King, Carrie is the second Prime Video series based on MGM/UA IP to launch after Amazon MGM Studios had made exploiting the venerable studio’s library a priority following the 2022 acquisition.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
  • There’s Haroon Mirza’s Stone Circle, commissioned by Ballroom Marfa, another venerable local institution.
    — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of venerable
Adjective
  • The pickup’s driver, a 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, was taken into custody but was later released after police consulted with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
    — Maggie Vespa, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Melanie Lawrence, a 68-year-old independent, worries about wells going dry in her area near Willcox, where the groundwater grew so depleted that the land started to crack.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of old
Adjective
  • The territories at various times have been part of the Russian and Ottoman empires, medieval Kievan Rus’ and earlier civilizations.
    — Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The time period is vaguely medieval and the accents British, save for Skarsgård, who speaks in a flat, neutral exhale, the sound of breeze riffling through straw.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of medieval
Adjective
  • Noyce, of Fairchild, went to a photography store and found a few serviceable lenses in a crate of antique movie cameras.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Someone wants to hike; someone else would rather browse antique shops; a few people are already asking what’s for dinner.
    — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of antique

Browse Nearby Words

hoarse
hoary
hoax
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Cite this Entry

“Hoary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoary. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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