1
as in artifact
a tiny often physical indication of something lost or vanished
a crude stone ax and other relics of the Neanderthals
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
3
as in dinosaur
one that has passed the peak of effectiveness or popularity
his courtly manners marked him as a relic of a more refined and formal era
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of relic
Their professional norms – editorial gatekeeping, standards for sourcing, verification of facts – are not bureaucratic relics.
—
Charles Edward Gehrke, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
Some are purchasing vinyl and record players, while others are getting flip phones, a relic of the 2000s.
—Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
Our Bill of Rights is not a lifeless relic.
—Chris Mattei, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2026
Finally, back in the vaults, Steph (Annabel O'Hagan) has been exposed to the rest of the vault dwellers as a relic of the pre-war times (and from Canada, no less).
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relic
Charles Edward Gehrke, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
Some are purchasing vinyl and record players, while others are getting flip phones, a relic of the 2000s.
—Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
Our Bill of Rights is not a lifeless relic.
—Chris Mattei, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2026
Finally, back in the vaults, Steph (Annabel O'Hagan) has been exposed to the rest of the vault dwellers as a relic of the pre-war times (and from Canada, no less).
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relic
Noun
-
Best of all is the installation-style curation, with paintings surrounded by clusters of artifacts from the same period.—
Clodagh Kinsella,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Both burial sites double as museums packed with presidential documents, artifacts, and plenty of Oval Office lore.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Marks family real estate firm bought the property in 1972 and turned it into a center for home furnishings and antiques.—
Iris Kwok,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
As many pewter items are vintage or antique, this is especially true because of the delicate construction.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Colossal isn't bringing back dinosaurs.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Tree ferns, survivors from the age of the dinosaurs, towered above.—
Betsy Andrews,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
To find it in the night sky, take your finger and trace along the handle of the Big Dipper to the bright orange star Arcturus, then over to the glowing blue star Vega.—
Michael d'Estries,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Feb. 2026
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The satellite also hosts the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission, which aims to monitor key air quality trace gases and aerosols over Europe in support of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) at high spatial resolution and with a fast revisit time.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Ken Blake Brea Sorry to see Jerry Neuheisel leave UCLA to join traitor and coaching has-been Chip Kelly at Northwestern.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Jan. 2026
-
All this success begs the legitimate question of how the once-struggling reality show for has-been celebrities reinvented itself and became a pop-cultural phenomenon that any public figure would be lucky to utilize as their re-introduction into the zeitgeist.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The photos Petersohn kept in his scrapbook — of piles of emaciated corpses and of a man who died in front of his eyes — show a far darker reality.—
Lesley Stahl,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
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The narrative pairs her with Sister Ying, a detective investigating a series of infant corpse cases where bodies are discovered sealed in luxury apartment walls.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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And within that galaxy, not only will stars live-and-die, and not only will star-formation cease once all of the gas has been consumed, but gravitational interactions will eject most of those stellar corpses, as well as the planet remnants that orbit them.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Feb. 2026
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These soon give way to montages, collages, and montages of collages, each aimed at transforming tangible remnants of memory, like photographs, into abstract depictions of a life lived.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Jamieson expects other Antarctic sharks live at the same depth, feeding on the carcasses of whales, giant squids and other marine creatures that die and sink to the bottom.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
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Next to it, an 11-foot-tall video screen displays recently shot footage of the elder dire wolves, Romulus and Remus, which are now nearly 16 months old and recently got to dine on their first deer carcass.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Relic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relic. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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