Ancient — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a very old person

a person who lived in ancient times

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kˈæptɚz/

🇬🇧British English

/ˈeɪnʃənt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ˈeɪnʃənt/

2 syllables Say it as /kˈæptɚz/.

Examples

ancient history
ancient civilizations such as those of the Etruscans and Sumerians
ancient Greece

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

antediluvian

Parts of Speech

noun	a very old person
noun	a person who lived in ancient times
adjective	belonging to times long past especially of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire “ancient history”
adjective	very old “an ancient mariner”

Word Forms

ancient	adjective	very old
ancientness	noun	extreme oldness
ancient	noun	a person who lived in ancient times

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

uralt

ein sehr alter Mensch

🇫🇷French

ancien

une personne très âgée

🇪🇸Spanish

antiguo

una persona muy mayor

🇮🇹Italian

antico

una persona molto anziana

🇳🇱Dutch

oud

een heel oud persoon

🇵🇹Portuguese

ancestral

uma pessoa muito velha

🇷🇺Russian

древний

очень старый человек

India

🇮🇳Hindi

प्राचीन

एक बहुत बूढ़ा व्यक्ति

🇧🇩Bengali

প্রাচীন

একজন খুব বয়স্ক ব্যক্তি

🇮🇳Tamil

பழமையான

மிகவும் வயதான நபர்

🇮🇳Telugu

పురాతనమైనది

చాలా పాత వ్యక్తి

🇮🇳Marathi

प्राचीन

एक खूप वृद्ध व्यक्ती

🇮🇳Gujarati

પ્રાચીન

એક ખૂબ જ વૃદ્ધ વ્યક્તિ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ

ತುಂಬಾ ವಯಸ್ಸಾದ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

പുരാതനമായ

വളരെ പ്രായമായ ഒരാൾ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪ੍ਰਾਚੀਨ

ਇੱਕ ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਬਜ਼ੁਰਗ ਵਿਅਕਤੀ

🇵🇰Urdu

قدیم

ایک بہت بوڑھا شخص

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

古老的

一个很老的人

🇯🇵Japanese

古代

とても年老いた人

🇰🇷Korean

고대의

아주 나이가 많은 사람

🇻🇳Vietnamese

cổ đại

một người rất già

🇹🇭Thai

โบราณ

คนแก่มาก

🇮🇩Indonesian

kuno

orang yang sangat tua

🇵🇭Filipino

sinaunang

isang napakatandang tao

🇲🇾Malay

kuno

seorang yang sangat tua

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

عتيق

شخص قديم جدا

🇮🇷Persian

باستانی

یک فرد بسیار پیر

🇹🇷Turkish

antik

çok yaşlı bir insan

🇮🇱Hebrew

עַתִיק

אדם מבוגר מאוד

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'ancient'?

The primary meaning of 'ancient' is 'a very old person'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'ancient' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'ancient' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'ancient' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'ancient' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

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In your opinion, does the word 'ancient' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Archaic

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