Millennial

/mɪˈlɛ.nɪ.əl/ adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Often capitalized: a person from the generation born in the last two decades of the 20th century, from around the early 1980s to the mid-1990s and who reached adulthood early in the third millennium C.E., characterized by their familiarity with computer technology and poorer financial prospects than their parents.
  • Grammar: millennial is listed as adj, noun.
  • Nearest alternatives: arcadian, epochal, eschatological, gen y cohort.
  • Useful contrasts: brief, noneschatological, nonmillennial.
  • Usage evidence: And we are fully entitled to hope that within a few years our goal will have been fully attained. The international language will be an accomplished fact throughout the world and the beautiful millennial dream of mankind will have been realized.

How to use "millennial"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "millennial" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. 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 "millennial" 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 "millennial" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "millennial" 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 "millennial" is acting as adj, noun 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 "arcadian" 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 "millennial", 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. 1
    Often capitalized: a person from the generation born in the last two decades of the 20th century, from around the early 1980s to the mid-1990s and who reached adulthood early in the third millennium C.E., characterized by their familiarity with computer technology and poorer financial prospects than their parents.

    "Someday, Boomers hope, Millennials will build according to great ideals their parents can only envision, act on vital issues their parents can only ponder."

  2. 2
    Alternative letter-case form of millennial. alt-of

    "Someday, Boomers hope, Millennials will build according to great ideals their parents can only envision, act on vital issues their parents can only ponder."

  3. 3
    A thousandth anniversary; also, a celebration of such an anniversary. obsolete, rare

    "The Magyar celebrates the millennial of Hungary, not of Austro-Hungary."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Thousand-year-old; also (by extension, loosely) thousands of years old. not-comparable

    "The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee / About his shadowy sides: above him swell / Huge sponges of millennial growth and height; […]"

  2. 2
    Alternative letter-case form of millennial. alt-of, not-comparable

    "Boomers played cassettes in their cars and popularized FM radio. Thirteeners love their compact disks. Today's electronics industry is abuzz with talk of the new digital technology that awaits Millennial teenagers."

  3. 3
    Occurring every thousand years. not-comparable
  4. 4
    Occurring at, or relating to, the beginning or end of a millennium. not-comparable

    "But I would urge you to resist the temptation to swoon into "Waking Life" as though it were a dizzy millennial throwback to a 60's trip movie."

  5. 5
    Referring to the thousandth anniversary of an event or happening. not-comparable

    "a millennial fair"

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Often capitalized: of or relating to, or characteristic of, people born in the last two decades of the 20th century from around the early 1980s to the mid 1990s (with 1996 births cited as the last Millennial year), and who reached adulthood early in the third millennium C.E. alt-of, broadly, capitalized, not-comparable, often

    "the millennial generation"

  2. 7
    Synonym of millenarian (“pertaining to the belief in an impending period of one thousand years of peace and righteousness associated with the Second Coming of Christ and his reign on earth”). not-comparable

    "the millennial judgment"

Adjective
  1. 1
    relating to a millennium or span of a thousand years wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
arcadianepochaleschatologicalgen y cohortgen y groupgen y individual

Example

"And we are fully entitled to hope that within a few years our goal will have been fully attained. The international language will be an accomplished fact throughout the world and the beautiful millennial dream of mankind will have been realized."

Common questions

What does "millennial" mean?

Often capitalized: a person from the generation born in the last two decades of the 20th century, from around the early 1980s to the mid-1990s and who reached adulthood early in the third millennium C.E., characterized by their familiarity with computer technology and poorer financial prospects than their parents.

What is a synonym for "millennial"?

Common synonyms include: arcadian, epochal, eschatological, gen y cohort, gen y group, gen y individual.

How do you use "millennial" in a sentence?

And we are fully entitled to hope that within a few years our goal will have been fully attained. The international language will be an accomplished fact throughout the world and the beautiful millennial dream of mankind will have been realized.

How do you pronounce "millennial"?

Pronounced /mɪˈlɛ.nɪ.əl/.

Etymology

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Late Latin mīllennium (“millennium”) + English -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives; and forming nouns). The English word may be analysed as millennium + -al or milli- (prefix meaning ‘thousand’) + -ennial (suffix meaning ‘years’). Adjective sense 5 (“of or relating to, or characteristic of, people born in the last two decades of the 20th century”) was coined by the American authors William Strauss (1947–2007) and Neil Howe (born 1951) in their book Generations (1991): see the quotations. The noun is derived from the adjective.

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