antiquated
Americanadjective
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continued from, resembling, or adhering to the past; old-fashioned.
antiquated attitudes.
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no longer used; obsolete or obsolescent.
The spinning wheel is an antiquated machine.
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aged; old.
antiquated aunts and uncles.
adjective
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outmoded; obsolete
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aged; ancient
Synonym Usage
See ancient 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of antiquated
Explanation
Something is antiquated when it is so old that it is no longer useful. If your parents believe that you shouldn't use the Internet when you write papers for school, you might call their ideas antiquated. Something is antiquated when it is so old, it's like an antique or recognizable from another era and has the negative feel of being thoroughly outmoded. Things like typewriters, sealing wax for letters, and ideas of proper etiquette all seem antiquated in modern society. Currently, things get antiquated ever faster — 5-inch floppy disks for computers and dial-up modems were very modern fifteen years ago, but now they're antiquated.
Vocabulary lists containing antiquated
Good Riddance
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Ancient Wisdom: Synonyms for "Old"
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This Week in Words: July 28 - August 3, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thieves have exploited antiquated magnetic stripes on benefits cards to steal hundreds of millions of public dollars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
The government has introduced a bill to end antiquated laws preventing Roman Catholic or Jewish prime ministers from being involved in the process of making Church of England appointments.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Michel’s son, Matt, has sought to modernize the team with a score-keeping app that has proved more reliable than Michel’s antiquated paper method.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Warsh strongly hinted the Fed would do the same, rather than rely primarily on incomplete or outdated government data collected through antiquated methods.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
The Group Headquarters building was an enormous, windy, antiquated structure built of powdery red stone and banging plumbing.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
