ancients

noun

plural of ancient
as in elders
a person of advanced years ancients in the tribe are accorded great respect and valued for their wisdom

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ancients The exhibit features several dozen dinosaur animatronics that fully loom and roar, and a virtual aquarium stocked with swimming ancients. — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 21 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancients
  1. elders
  2. adults
Noun
  • Fawn Youngbear-Tibbetts, the group's executive director, said then that recordings of elders' stories on old tapes were likely melted.
    — Eric Henderson, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Ethnographic accounts from native elders describe how during unique warm-water events in late summer, people voyaged out at night into the fjords, aided by natural bioluminescent plankton.
    — Torben Rick, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of elders
Noun
  • Zest contributes to life satisfaction among children, adolescents, and adults.
    — Joan M. Cook, Time, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The average cost for medications alone for adults over 50 in the state’s prison is US$3,357 per person per year.
    — Jaquelyn Jahn, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of adults

Browse Nearby Words

ancientness
ancients
ancillary
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ancients.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancients. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All