Definition of relicnext
1
2
as in antique
something belonging to or surviving from an earlier period in my grandparents' attic are many "groovy" relics from the 1960s

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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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4
as in remains
relics plural a dead body though it is believed that missionary died in New Guinea, his relics have never been found

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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 relic The worst part of Sklar’s clutter is the relics of his previous work. Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 8 Apr. 2026 Goldhaber’s reimagining of an ominous relic from an earlier era of media consumption may capture for audiences the sensation, for better or worse, of what life can be like in an ultra-connected world. Mark Olsen, Twin Cities, 5 Apr. 2026 These are not the polished relics of admirals and officers but the everyday possessions of working men who fought and died aboard a burning warship. Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2026 Their choice to select a new angel from obscurity and chronicle her rise to fame may be another way to provide a fresh coat of paint to a production that runs the risk of still feeling, to some, like a relic of the pre-body positivity movement. Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for relic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relic
Noun
  • After five months, DriveSavers recovered the contents of two of them, with artifacts of the damage still visible in certain images.
    Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
  • Among them is the demanding task of turning a pile of artifacts into a museum collection, which includes cataloging, researching, describing and photographing.
    Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 19 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The characters are antiques dressed as human beings, and their traumas pile up without consequence.
    Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Her team approaches each project with an eye for form and function and aims to incorporate meaningful pieces, antiques, forms, textures, and colors each and every time.
    Dan Howarth, Architectural Digest, 19 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • My father-in-law traveled with us, and my kids enjoyed the day with their grandpa digging for dinosaur bones and learning about electricity and the solar system.
    Linnea Bailey, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Small plastic children’s toys lined at the top of the car — dinosaurs and dump trucks and sharks — creating their own shrunken skyline in front of the Vertigo, signaling that young kids likely lived there.
    Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In a time when science’s boundaries were less stable, Lamarck’s poetic theories had significant influence, and its traces can even be detected in contemporary epigenetics.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
  • 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, 19 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In the Seventies, he was mocked as a Vegas has-been in a jumpsuit; in the Eighties, as a cultural colonizer.
    Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026
  • When her estranged daughter unexpectedly moves into their crumbling Manhattan townhouse, the TV has-been is confronted with the one role she’s spent her entire life avoiding: motherhood.
    Peter White, Deadline, 19 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • The plots of these shows usually center on a murder, which occurs not so much to end a human life as to inconvenience our star, who must postpone a brunch or a media event to conceal an inconvenient corpse.
    Libby Gelman-Waxner, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Gerlach is facing nearly 500 charges — including burglary, abuse of a corpse and desecration of monuments — tied to a disturbing investigation at Mount Moriah Cemetery near Philadelphia, the outlet reported.
    Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Vacant Kmart buildings have been a headache for various municipalities in the county and around the region going back decades — even before its 2002 bankruptcy — as communities try to figure out what to do with the last remnants of the once-massive retailer.
    Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Trails thread through remnants of the same ancient sea that once also flowed over South Dakota's Badlands National Park—keep an eye out for fossils.
    Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Whale of a Tale Kennedy’s oldest daughter, Kick Kennedy, once told Town & Country that in the 1990s, her father lugged home the head of a whale carcass that had washed up on the beach on Hyannis Port’s Squaw Island.
    Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 16 Apr. 2026
  • Before tossing the chicken carcass, put it in the stock pot to liven the flavor of your soup.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Relic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relic. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.

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