rinky-dink

adjective

Definition of rinky-dinknext
as in antiquated

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 rinky-dink Despite the anodyne cinematography, special effects that look rinky-dink compared to Oppenheimer, and a color palette more suited to an episode of The A-Team than serious cinema, the movie really scared me. — Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025 Unfortunately, the rinky-dink webcam built into your laptop cannot come close to competing with your handset. — PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 2025 This is not going to be some rinky-dink 80-minute sketch show. — Jeff Conway, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 Only the majesty of the West was good enough for them—they'd never deign to spend a weekend on one of the rinky-dink mountains of the Northeast. — Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Oct. 2022 See All Example Sentences for rinky-dink
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rinky-dink
  1. antiquated
  2. quaint
  3. obsolete
  4. old-time
  5. retro
  6. old-world
  7. old-fashioned
  8. old-school
Adjective
  • According to firefighters, the department’s flood response was also limited by an antiquated dispatch system.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Plaintiffs challenging the prohibition on home distilling claim the 1868 law is an antiquated relic of Reconstruction-era politics.
    — Michael Kunzelman, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of antiquated
Adjective
  • Ah, the quaint days of 2004, when millions of people would crowd into theaters to watch a documentary about geopolitical incompetence.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Nearby Parnham Park provided that missing piece, with its quaint wooden bridge and glassy lake completing the Dashwoods’ idyllic estate.
    — Charley Ward, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of quaint
Adjective
  • Whether machines can make conventional money obsolete remains an open question.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Advertisement That prescription has rankled many cybersecurity experts who scoff at the possibility that their expertise will be rendered obsolete.
    — Harry Booth, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of obsolete
Adjective
  • The docent, red glasses in hand, slumps against the old-time cannon.
    — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • While today's freezers are packed with ice cream flavors such as cookies and cream, salted caramel and mint chocolate chip, some old-time favorites seem to have melted away.
    — Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of old-time
Adjective
  • The Mister Mort x Tip Top Shoes x Mephisto Match takes inspiration from retro hiking boots, decking out the low-top walking sneaker in materials often found on mountaineering shoes.
    — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The Atlanta Falcons received backlash — and some jokes — after revealing a retro team symbol that some say resembles Nazi imagery.
    — Josephine Murphy, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of retro
Adjective
  • At The Aster, a boutique hotel and members club in Hollywood, guests can begin the day with classes in the reformer Pilates studio, where old-world dark wood and ornamental columns are paired with high-tech apparatus.
    — Lindsay Cohn, Vogue, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Hiller plays Aldrict, an old-world vampire who has crossed paths with Liz several times over the centuries and is a bit of a troublemaker.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of old-world
Adjective
  • The 1,800-square-foot Encinitas location, modeled after the company’s flagship in Costa Mesa, is designed to resemble a 1950s-style diner, complete with chrome accents and an old-fashioned pie case.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2026
  • Advocates argued that decades of studies had identified the most effective ways to teach reading, which included teaching kids to sound out words using old-fashioned phonics, while emphasizing vocabulary and comprehension.
    — Lisa Chambers, Forbes.com, 10 June 2026
Definition of old-fashioned
Adjective
  • But the two old-school, thrifty teams have turned the Fall Classic into a showcase for what money can’t buy.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • When Rich Eisen anchored SportsCenter for the first time in 22 years last August, ESPN brought back the show’s old-school graphics and music.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of old-school

Browse Nearby Words

ring up
rinky-dink
rinse
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rinky-dink.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rinky-dink. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All