as in fogy
a person or thing that is similar to someone or something from the past or that is suited to an earlier time
—usually + to
She's a throwback to the actresses of the 1950s. The band's music is a throwback to the 1980s.
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Recent Examples of throwback
Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Jan. 2026
For older hoops fan like me, their style is actually a throwback to how the game was played back in the 1980s.
—Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 20 Jan. 2026
Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, and Karlie Kloss have joined in, uploading 2016 throwbacks that signal a desire to rewind to an era when influencer culture felt less high‑stakes and more experimental.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Jan. 2026
Do-it-yourself trends, in addition to repurposing antiques for throwback wedding themes, were among the topics featured Sunday at The Lehmann Mansion Wedding Show in Lake Villa.
—Karie Angell Luc, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for throwback
Noun
The concession trailers that are a throwback to simpler days.
—Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Jan. 2026
For older hoops fan like me, their style is actually a throwback to how the game was played back in the 1980s.
—Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 20 Jan. 2026
Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, and Karlie Kloss have joined in, uploading 2016 throwbacks that signal a desire to rewind to an era when influencer culture felt less high‑stakes and more experimental.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Jan. 2026
Do-it-yourself trends, in addition to repurposing antiques for throwback wedding themes, were among the topics featured Sunday at The Lehmann Mansion Wedding Show in Lake Villa.
—Karie Angell Luc, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for throwback
Recent Examples of Synonyms for throwback
Noun
-
Old fogey-ish, ungrateful and stupid.—
Katie Hafner,
Scientific American,
10 Sep. 2025
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These are people who know AI and have grown up with this stuff that these old fogies haven't.—
Alison Snyder,
Axios,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Center Joel Eriksson Ek and forward Marcus Johansson, however, were on track to return against the Red Wings after absences of six games and three games, respectively.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The council's seven members with voting powers did not return messages asking for comment.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The neighborhood/area One of only three lodges on Cerro Guido, the largest estancia in the area, the lodge has access to all the top activities of Torres (a 15-minute drive away) alongside more offbeat, crowd-free outings to ancient burial sites, Jurassic fossil trails, and working sheep farms.—
Sarah Marshall,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
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Analysis of other Sthenurinae fossils suggest a variety of movement options for different giant kangaroo species.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The cold air is then expected to stay in place through the beginning of February, ensuring that whatever snow falls this weekend will stay on the ground for a while.—
Matthew Villafane,
CBS News,
25 Jan. 2026
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Only one other player has been ever elected by the writers with 1,500 or fewer hits — Roy Campanella (1,422) in 1969 — and that total falls far short of the average career hit mark for all Hall of Fame batters, which is 2,330.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Age mandates for trees worry some environmentalists Woodlands that are healthy, biodiverse and able to provide food and habitat for myriad species usually have a mix of tree types, from skinny saplings to looming old-timers.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
22 Jan. 2026
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Most old-timers would tell you that Bill Snyder did more for Kansas State than anyone did anywhere in the history of goal posts.—
Kevin Sherrington,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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So far, almost all Republicans have declined to put checks on Trump through the war powers votes.—
STEPHEN GROVES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
23 Jan. 2026
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Nvidia declined to comment on executive travel plans.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Verb
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After a police operation in Rio de Janeiro in October degenerated into a chaotic shootout, leading to more than 120 deaths, Brazilian civil society groups reacted in horror.—
Brian Winter,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
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Our national political and cultural discourse, especially online, has degenerated into a permanent fever dream.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Throwback.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/throwback. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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