Definition of mossbacknext
as in conservative
a person with old-fashioned ideas those mossbacks at the intelligence agency didn't get the memo that the world had changed

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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 mossback This man performed in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Assumed all parts from mossbacks to boys young. — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mossback
Noun
  • Brattin was a member of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, an outspoken group of conservatives whose disruptive and boisterous tactics defined Missouri politics for years.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2026
  • There are socialists, libertarians, progressives, and conservatives.
    — Jason Thurlkill, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • For wellness-minded readers, veterans and the parents of young athletes, how testosterone works has become more than a locker-room topic.
    — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
  • According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Reaves would be at least the 235th military veteran executed nationwide in the modern era and the 14th veteran executed under DeSantis.
    — Gretchen Reynolds, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • To do this, the team of researchers used fossils and knowledge of mosasaurs' most recent living relatives – snakes and lizards like the komodo dragon – to recreate the hunting behavior of mosasaurs.
    — October 16, NPR, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The discovery provides a detailed view into how the dinosaur’s body responded to injury before its death and demonstrates how neutron imaging can reveal soft tissues that are rarely preserved in fossils.
    — Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • There’s no old fogey-ness to Lorne.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
  • For the benefit of us old fogies?
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

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

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