What does "antique" mean?
In general, anything very old; specifically:; An old object perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance.
Antique
/ˌanˈtiːk/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: In general, anything very old; specifically:; An old object perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance.
- Grammar: antique is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abandoned, abiding, abjured, age old.
- Useful contrasts: contemporary dialogue, contemporary english, contemporary history syllabus.
- Usage evidence: Can you tell me where the nearest antique shop is?
How to use "antique"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "antique" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "antique" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "antique" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "antique" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "antique" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abandoned" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "antique", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 In general, anything very old; specifically:; An old object perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance.
- 2 any piece of furniture or decorative object or the like produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity wordnet
- 3 In general, anything very old; specifically:; An object of ancient times.
- 4 an elderly man wordnet
- 5 In general, anything very old; specifically:; The style or manner of ancient times, used especially of Greek and Roman art. singular
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 In general, anything very old; specifically:; An old person. derogatory, figuratively, mildly
- 7 In general, anything very old; specifically:; A man of ancient times. obsolete
"They supposed that they had seene those most beutyfull Dryades, or the natyue nymphes or fayres of the fountaynes whereof the antiques spake so muche."
- 8 A style of type of thick and bold face in which all lines are of equal or nearly equal thickness.
- 9 Synonym of antic, specifically:; Grotesque entertainment; an antic. obsolete
"[…] I do implore secretie, that the King would haue me present the Princesse (sweete chuck) with some delightfull ostentation, or show, or pageant, or antique, or fierworke : […]"
- 10 Synonym of antic, specifically:; A performer in an antic; or in general, a burlesque performer, a buffoon. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To search or shop for antiques. intransitive
"Once our daughter-in-love, Janis, went antiquing with us because she and our firstborn, Matthew, were in the market for some bedroom furniture."
- 2 give an antique appearance to wordnet
- 3 To make (an object) appear to be an antique in some way. transitive
- 4 shop for antiques wordnet
- 5 To emboss without gilding. transitive
Adjective
- 1 Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.
"[…] Phillip the younger issue of the king, / Coting the other hill in such arraie, / That all his guilded vpright pikes do seeme, / Streight trees of gold, the pendant leaues, / And their deuice of Antique heraldry, / Quartred in collours seeming sundy fruits, / Makes it the Orchard of the Hesperides, […]"
- 2 Belonging to former times, not modern, out of date, old-fashioned.
"Some traditions of this antiquer system may have passed into Van Eyck's method, from distemper into oil, and thence downwards, gradually more vague, into the modern process, till they at length disappeared altogether about Rubens's time."
- 3 Designating a style of type.
- 4 Embossed without gilt.
- 5 Synonym of old (“of color: subdued, as if faded over time”).
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Synonym of antic, specifically obsolete
- 7 Synonym of antic, specifically:; Fantastic, odd, wild, antic. obsolete
Adjective
- 1 out of fashion wordnet
- 2 belonging to or lasting from times long ago wordnet
- 3 made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A province of Western Visayas, Visayas, Philippines. Capital: San Jose de Buenavista.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
contemporary dialoguecontemporary englishcontemporary history syllabuscontemporary music
Example
"Can you tell me where the nearest antique shop is?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "antique"?
Common synonyms include: abandoned, abiding, abjured, age old, age old, age-long.
How do you use "antique" in a sentence?
Can you tell me where the nearest antique shop is?
How do you pronounce "antique"?
Pronounced /ˌanˈtiːk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Borrowed from French antique (“ancient, old”), from Latin antiquus (“former, earlier, ancient, old”), from ante (“before”); see ante-. Doublet of antic.
Etymology 2
From Spanish Antique, from Hiligaynon hantik.