antediluvian

American  

[an-tee-di-loo-vee-uhn] / ˌæn ti dɪˈlu vi ən /

adjective

1. of or belonging to the period before the Biblical Flood.

2. very old, old-fashioned, or out of date; antiquated; primitive.

   antediluvian ideas.

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noun

1. a person who lived before the Biblical Flood.

2. a very old or old-fashioned person or thing.

antediluvian British  

/ ˌæntɪdɪˈluːvɪən, -daɪ- /

adjective

1. belonging to the ages before the biblical Flood (Genesis 7, 8)

2. old-fashioned or antiquated

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noun

1. an antediluvian person or thing

Etymology

Origin of antediluvian

First recorded in 1640–50; ante- + Latin dīluvi(um) “a flood, deluge” + -an; see origin at deluge

Explanation

Antediluvian means "before the flood" — that is, the Biblical flood with Noah's ark. Generally, though, the word is used — often humorously — to describe something really, really old. In popular language, antediluvian is almost always used to exaggerate how comically, ridiculously old and out-of-date something is. You may laugh at your parents' antediluvian ideas of what's proper for going out on a date. And how about those antediluvian computers they still insist are fine! When the word was coined in the seventeenth century, however, it was meant literally. Back then, the science of reconstructing the Earth's history used the Bible as a frame of reference.

Example Sentences

But the script forces antediluvian clichés on some of the grown-up female characters.

From New York Times • Jul. 17, 2022

Microsoft released the first version of Internet Explorer in 1995, the antediluvian era of web surfing dominated by the first widely popular browser, Netscape Navigator.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 2022

So, $23.7 billion annually to renovate an antediluvian water system?

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2021

She rode past a parking lot containing an assortment of antediluvian cars and trucks, some so old they still had steering wheels, real ones, not the cosmetic kind.

From Slate • May 29, 2021

Confirmation of the Deluge story was found in the fossil shells on high mountain tops; while as for the giants of antediluvian times, there were the huge bones in proof.

From Pioneers of Evolution from Thales to Huxley With an Intermediate Chapter on the Causes of Arrest of the Movement by Clodd, Edward