older

adjective

as in elderly
being of advanced years and especially past middle age an older woman was the chief librarian for the town

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for older
  1. elderly
  2. old
  3. aging
  4. aged
Adjective
  • Florida has executed the oldest prisoner in its history, the latest in a spate of capital punishments against elderly death-row inmates.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 16 July 2026
  • The daughter in the tree, his wife, his elderly parents, and six more children besides.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
Definition of elderly
Adjective
  • The 19-year-old also said that France should fear Spain due to Spain’s recent success against Les Bleus.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 July 2026
  • The 29-year-old signed with San Francisco in free agency on a one-year, $12-million contract.
    — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of old
Adjective
  • Hargitay and Amazon shoppers swear by Cetaphil’s anti-aging formula.
    — Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 8 July 2026
  • As for treatments, the menu is extensive, from a sound massage with Tibetan singing bowls to a detox session with a South American quebracho bark extract, and anti-ageing rituals to a pregnancy pamper.
    — Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of aging
Adjective
  • Two 20-something girlfriends shared a plate to my right, while a group of middle-aged white men traveling from Houston took up a conversation with the cashier.
    — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 17 July 2026
  • The trial enrolled middle-aged and older men with hypogonadism who already had cardiovascular disease or were at high risk.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026
Definition of aged
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.

Browse Nearby Words

olden
older
oldfangled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Older.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/older. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on older

Nglish: Translation of older for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of raffish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All