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Old vs Ancient vs Venerable vs Antique vs Antiquated vs Antediluvian vs Archaic vs Obsolete

Oldancientvenerableantiqueantiquatedantediluvianarchaicobsolete all denote having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past.

Old, opposed to young or new (see also AGED ), applies to what has lived or existed long or has been long in use or has stood for a long time in a particular relation to something; ancient, opposed especially to modern, to what lived, existed, or happened long ago or has existed or come down from remote antiquity.

Venerable suggests the hoariness and dignity of age.

Antique applies to what has come down from former, ancient, or classical times or is in some way related to them; with regard to articles (as furnishings, implements, or bric-a-brac) the term suggests an old-fashioned type characteristic of an earlier period.

Something antiquated has gone out of vogue or fashion or has been for some time discredited; the word often implies some degree of contempt.

Something antediluvian is so antiquated and outmoded that it might have come from Noah’s ark.

Something archaic has the characteristics of an earlier, sometimes of a primitive, period; with regard to words, specifically, archaic applies to what is not in use in ordinary modern language but retained in special context or for special uses (as in biblical, ecclesiastical, and legal expressions and in poetry).

Something obsolete has gone out of use or has been or needs to be replaced by something newer, better, or more efficient that has subsequently come into being.