Definition of mossbacknext
as in conservative
a person with old-fashioned ideas those mossbacks at the intelligence agency didn't get the memo that the world had changed

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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 mossback This man performed in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Assumed all parts from mossbacks to boys young. Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mossback
Noun
  • West’s case also dovetailed with an anti-surrogacy campaign recently undertaken by some conservatives, Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis who specializes in reproductive health, told CNN.
    Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Democrats say the flip indicates voters want education to move on from political fights over social issues, while conservatives point to their wins.
    Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The 30-year veteran firefighter was battling pancreatic cancer.
    Ginger Allen, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • As for music, expect a broad menu of noisemakers with national, regional and local buzz, programmed by co-organizer and veteran music promoter Steev Rullman of PureHoney Magazine and Bumblefest fame.
    Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The source of historical botany was measured through the archives of plant fossils until the 1500s, upon the discovery of papermaking.
    Candace Barone, Florida Times-Union, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The 1973 oil shock catalyzed investments in nuclear power, renewable energy, and efficiency that reduced the fossil-fuel intensity of the global economy even more rapidly than climate policy did in the years following the 2015 Paris Agreement.
    Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • There’s no old fogey-ness to Lorne.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
  • For the benefit of us old fogies?
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mossback.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mossback. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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