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- DictionaryOld/ōld/
adjective
- 1. having lived for a long time; no longer young: "the old man lay propped up on cushions" Similar elderlymatureagedoldersenioradvanced in yearsup in yearsgetting onin one's dotagelong in the toothgraygray-hairedgray-beardedgrizzledhoarypast one's primenot as young as one wasancientdecrepitdodderingdodderynot long for this worldripesenescentsenilesuperannuatedvenerableseptuagenarianoctogenariannonagenariancentenarianinformal:past itover the hillno spring chickenrare:longevousOpposite young
- ▪ made or built long ago: "the old quarter of the town" Similar historicantiquateddilapidatedbroken-downrun downtumbledownramshackledecayingcrumblingdisintegratingOpposite newmodern
- ▪ possessed or used for a long time: "he gave his old clothes away" Similar wornworn outshabbythreadbareholeytornfrayedpatchedtatteredmoth-eatenraggedyellowedold-fashionedout of dateoutmodedcastoffhand-me-downdémodéinformal:tattyantiqueveteranvintageOpposite newfashionablenewmodern
- ▪ boring or tiresome, especially as a result of repetition or overfamiliarity: informal US "I wish she'd shut up—it's getting old"
- 2. belonging only or chiefly to the past; former or previous: "valuation under the old rating system was inexact" Similar bygonepastformeroldenof oldremotepreviousearlyearlierearliestmedievalancientclassicalprimevalprimordialprehistoricantediluvianforgottenimmemorialOpposite modernrecent
- ▪ used to refer to the first of two or more similar things: "I was going to try to get my old job back" Similar formerpreviousex-one-timesometimeerstwhileoncethenlapsedformal:quondamOpposite new
- ▪ dating from far back; long-established or known: "we greet each other like old friends" Similar hackneyedhackbanaltriteoverusedoverworkedcut and driedtiredworn outtimewornstalestereotypedclichédplatitudinousunoriginalderivativeunimaginativecommonplacecommonpedestrianprosaicrun-of-the-millstockconventionalout of dateoutdatedold-fashionedoutmodedarchaicobsoletedefunctextinctantiquatedantediluviansuperannuatedhoarypasséinformal:old hatout of the arkcornyfuddy-duddyplayed outhackyantwackytime-honoredold-timelong-establishedage-oldlong-standinglong-livedenduringlastingfamiliarcustomaryconventionalestablishedritualritualistichabitualsetfixedroutineusualwontedhistoricfolkold-worldancestralOpposite freshinnovativenew
- ▪ (of a form of a language) as used in former or earliest times.
- 3. of a specified age: "he was fourteen years old"
- ▪ a person or animal of the age specified: "a nineteen-year-old"
- 4. used to express affection, familiarity, or contempt: informal "it gets the old adrenaline going"
Word Origin Old Englishald, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch oud and German alt, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘adult’, shared by Latin alere ‘nourish’.
Derivatives
- 1. oldish adjective
- 2. oldness noun
Scrabble Points: 4
O
1L
1D
2
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