ancient
Very old; from a long, long time ago.
ancient in a sentence
- We visited an ancient castle whose walls were built a thousand years ago.
- The museum's ancient Egyptian mummy is more than three thousand years old.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to ancient?
- Ayoung
- Bnew
- Cold
- Dmodern
Show the answer
C: old. The other three mean the opposite of ancient.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to ancient?
- Aold
- Bnew
- Caged
Show the answer
B: new. The other three mean nearly the same as ancient.
Words that mean something similar
old, aged
Words that mean the opposite
new, modern, young
Careful: ancient is not antique
Antique is old and valued. Ancient is very, very old. Read why children mix them up.
More words about time & change
- antique: Very old and often valuable.
- antiquity: The distant past, especially the times of ancient Greece and Rome.
- awry: Not going as planned; twisted to one side.
- calamity: A terrible event that causes great damage or sadness.
- cease: To stop happening or stop doing something.
- commence: To begin or start.
- conclude: To bring something to an end, or to decide something after thinking about it.
- constant: Happening all the time without stopping, or staying the same.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test