venerable
Americanadjective
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commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; worthy of veneration or reverence, as because of high office or noble character.
a venerable member of Congress.
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a title for someone proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church to have attained the first degree of sanctity or of an Anglican archdeacon.
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(of places, buildings, etc.) hallowed by religious, historic, or other lofty associations.
the venerable halls of the abbey.
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impressive or interesting because of age, antique appearance, etc..
a venerable oak tree.
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extremely old or obsolete; ancient.
a venerable automobile.
noun
adjective
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(esp of a person) worthy of reverence on account of great age, religious associations, character, position, etc
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(of inanimate objects) hallowed or impressive on account of historical or religious association
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ancient
venerable tomes
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RC Church a title bestowed on a deceased person when the first stage of his canonization has been accomplished and his holiness has been recognized in a decree of the official Church
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Church of England a title given to an archdeacon
Other Word Forms
- quasi-venerable adjective
- quasi-venerably adverb
- unvenerability noun
- unvenerable adjective
- unvenerableness noun
- unvenerably adverb
- venerability noun
- venerableness noun
- venerably adverb
Etymology
Origin of venerable
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin venerābilis, equivalent to venerā ( rī ) to venerate + -bilis -ble
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.
Actually, that comparison was made by New York infrastructure czar Robert Moses; Mr. Gittlitz fits in a venerable tradition.
“In retrospect, the presence and credibility of such venerable people in different orbits led me to make assumptions about him that clouded my judgment in ways it shouldn’t have.”
On that basis the venerable bank could hardly have chosen a more suitable leader.
He regarded sermons as interesting only to venerable relics like his mother and me.
From Literature
After college, she moved to Los Angeles, performing as a rock singer and studying at the venerable Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.
From Barron's
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.
