venerable

1 deserving honor and respect especially by reason of age the venerable old man was a cherished source of advice and wisdom for the villagers Synonyms hallowed, revered, reverend, sacred, venerated Related Words honorable, reputable, respectable; considered, esteemed, honored, respected, reverenced; admirable, distinguished, estimable, redoubtable, worthy; good, moral, noble, righteous Near Antonyms bad, discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, ignominious, infamous, loose, notorious, shameful; immoral, seamy, shadowy, shady, sordid, unsavory, vile, wicked; base, contemptible, despicable, detestable, dirty, low, mean, wretched

2 dating or surviving from the distant past a venerable tradition that colleges have been maintaining for centuries Synonyms aged, age-old, antediluvian, antique, dateless, hoar, hoary, immemorial, old, ancientRelated Words aging (or ageing), mature; antiquated, archaic, archaistic, dated, fusty, geriatric, medieval (also mediaeval), moldy, Noachian, obsolete, outmoded, out-of-date, passé; old-fashioned, old-time, old-world, retro, vintage; durable, enduring, lasting, long-lived, permanent; ageless, hallowed, time-honored, timeless, time-tested, timeworn, traditional, tried, tried-and-true; classic, classical; prehistoric (also prehistorical), primeval, primordialNear Antonyms fresh, vernal, young, youthful; contemporary, current, latest, mod, novel, present-day, ultramodern; untested, untried; brand-new, unused, unwornAntonyms modern, new, recent