old

1 being of advanced years and especially past middle age every day the old fisherman set out in his small boat to brave the dangers of the sea Synonyms aged, aging (or ageing), ancient, geriatric, long-lived, elderly, older, over-the-hill, senescent, senior, unyoungRelated Words centenarian, nonagenarian, octogenarian, septuagenarian, sexagenarian; oldish; adult, grown-up, mature, middle-aged; pensioned, retired, superannuated; matriarchal, patriarchal, venerable; anile, decrepit, doddering, senile, spavined, tottery; overage (also overaged)Near Antonyms ageless; youngish; adolescent, immature, juvenile, preteen, puerile; minor, underage; callow, green, inexperienced, raw; babyish, childish, childlike, infantile, infantine, kiddishAntonyms young, youthful

2 dating or surviving from the distant past an extremely old piece of jewelry was discovered in the Egyptian ruins Synonyms aged, age-old, antediluvian, antique, dateless, hoar, hoary, immemorial, ancient, venerableRelated Words aging (or ageing), mature; antiquated, archaic, archaistic, dated, fusty, geriatric, medieval (also mediaeval), moldy, Noachian, obsolete, outmoded, out-of-date, passé; old-fashioned, old-time, old-world, retro, vintage; durable, enduring, lasting, long-lived, permanent; ageless, hallowed, time-honored, timeless, time-tested, timeworn, traditional, tried, tried-and-true; classic, classical; prehistoric (also prehistorical), primeval, primordialNear Antonyms fresh, vernal, young, youthful; contemporary, current, latest, mod, novel, present-day, ultramodern; untested, untried; brand-new, unused, unwornAntonyms modern, new, recent

3 having been such at some previous time I ran into my old fourth-grade teacher yesterday Synonyms erstwhile, late, former, once, onetime, other, past, quondam, sometime, whilomRelated Words bygone, dead, defunct, departed, expired, extinct, gone, long-ago, vanishedNear Antonyms contemporary, current, extant, ongoing, present, present-day; coming, future, prospective, unborn

4 causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest even the most stirring speeches start to get old after you've heard them a few times Synonyms arid, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, boring, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearyingRelated Words aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless; blank, earthbound, gray (also grey), inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless, undramatic, uneventful, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular; annoying, bothersome, irksome, irritating; longsome; palling; draining, enervating, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing; debilitating, enfeebling; demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting; common, commonplace, ordinary, tepid, unexceptional, unsurprising, vapid; cumbersome, lumbering, plodding, poky (or pokey)Near Antonyms amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, eye-opening, fabulous, marvelous (or marvellous), sensational, spectacular, surprising, wonderful, wondrous; animating, breathtaking, electrifying, energizing, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, galvanizing, hair-raising, inspiring, invigorating, rip-roaring, rousing, stimulating, stirring, thrilling; amusing, diverting, entertaining; moving, poignant, touching; alluring, attracting, attractive, beguiling, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, enthralling, entrancing, fascinating; mesmerizing, spellbinding; suspenseful; arresting, provocative, tantalizingAntonyms absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting