dated
Americanadjective
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having or showing a date.
a dated record of all meetings.
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out-of-date; old-fashioned.
a nostalgic program of dated songs.
- Synonyms:
- unfashionable, passé, outmoded
adjective
-
unfashionable; outmoded
dated clothes
-
(of a security) having a fixed date for redemption
Other Word Forms
- datedly adverb
- datedness noun
- undated adjective
Etymology
Origin of dated
Explanation
Something that's dated is very obviously old-fashioned or out of style. Your grandmother's expectation that you send her a written thank-you note whenever she gives you a gift might seem a little dated to you. Some people can wear thrift shop clothes from the 1980s and look stylish, while others just look dated. And while some movies are still funny even years after they're released, the jokes in others just seem dated. This word meaning "old-fashioned" has been around since the turn of the 20th century, from date, which means both "to mark with a date" and also "to mark as old-fashioned."
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.
Despite his markers of making it — the oppressively over-decorated mansion, the heavy jewelry — Joe ends the film still looking dated and cheap.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
Thorin carries a mitochondrial genome similar to that of the Stajnia group and has been dated to about 50,000 years ago.
From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026
She fears she will not be paid as Companies House filings dated up to 30 June 2025 show Swansea Audio Ltd were £888,000 in the red.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
I live in a modest, fully paid-off home, drive an older car, have comfortable but dated and worn furniture, and buy clothes at thrift stores.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
“Arthur, don’t forget that if I never dated Hudson, then I couldn’t have broken up with him. Then I wouldn’t have gone to that post office. Then I wouldn’t have met you.”
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
