1
: having the characteristics of the language of the past and surviving chiefly in specialized uses
an archaic word
Note: In this dictionary the label archaic is affixed to words and senses relatively common in earlier times but infrequently used in present-day English.
2
: of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time : antiquated
archaic legal traditions
3
capitalized
: of or belonging to the early or formative phases of a culture or a period of artistic development
especially
: of or belonging to the period leading up to the classical period of Greek culture
4
: surviving from an earlier period
specifically
: typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage
5
capitalized
: of or relating to the period from about 8000 b.c. to 1000 b.c. and the North American cultures of that time
Synonyms
Examples of archaic in a Sentence
The author is a bluestocking, with a weakness for etymology and archaic religious texts, her body of work lauded for revealing the sacred in the ordinary.
—
Kathryn Harrison, New York Times Book Review, 21 Dec. 2008
Europe's economic growth and productivity, Judt reminds us, for all the horror stories about archaic work regulations and inflexible labor markets, has remained impressive up to the current moment.
—John T. McGreevy, Commonweal, 24 Mar. 2006
Between the upper limit of radiocarbon dating (about 50 ka) and the lower limit of radiogenic potassium dating (about 0.5 Ma) there used to exist a chronological lacuna that I call the Gap. This temporal range encompasses the transition of archaic humans into fully modern forms, so the lack of a reliable means of dating fossils from the Gap was disconcerting.
—Ervan G. Garrison, Physics Today, October 2001
The company needs to update its archaic computer systems.
Kathryn Harrison, New York Times Book Review, 21 Dec. 2008
Europe's economic growth and productivity, Judt reminds us, for all the horror stories about archaic work regulations and inflexible labor markets, has remained impressive up to the current moment.
—John T. McGreevy, Commonweal, 24 Mar. 2006
Between the upper limit of radiocarbon dating (about 50 ka) and the lower limit of radiogenic potassium dating (about 0.5 Ma) there used to exist a chronological lacuna that I call the Gap. This temporal range encompasses the transition of archaic humans into fully modern forms, so the lack of a reliable means of dating fossils from the Gap was disconcerting.
—Ervan G. Garrison, Physics Today, October 2001
The company needs to update its archaic computer systems.
Recent Examples on the Web
But momentum has taken a hit after being removed from Edinburgh 2026 even though the Commonwealth Games is largely deemed as archaic, its relevance dwindling over the decades, and a relic of a bygone era.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
One of the important things Conclave does is to slowly peel back archaic layers to reveal what all the hocus-pocus represents in this day and age.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
On October 19, Gomez hit the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' red carpet wearing a stunning velvet navy Alaïa gown featuring an hourglass silhouette, deep scoop neckline, and black leather peek-a-boo bustier, once again bucking archaic fashion rules about the controversial color combo.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 20 Oct. 2024
That finding means archaic humans had more than one copy of AMY1 as far back as 800,000 years ago.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for archaic 
Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
One of the important things Conclave does is to slowly peel back archaic layers to reveal what all the hocus-pocus represents in this day and age.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2024
On October 19, Gomez hit the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' red carpet wearing a stunning velvet navy Alaïa gown featuring an hourglass silhouette, deep scoop neckline, and black leather peek-a-boo bustier, once again bucking archaic fashion rules about the controversial color combo.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 20 Oct. 2024
That finding means archaic humans had more than one copy of AMY1 as far back as 800,000 years ago.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for archaic
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'archaic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to archaic
Dictionary Entries Near archaic
Cite this Entry
“Archaic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archaic. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
archaic
adjective
ar·cha·ic
är-ˈkā-ik 
: of, relating to, characteristic of, or surviving from an earlier time
especially
: no longer in general use
the archaic words "methinks" and "saith"
Medical Definition
archaic
adjective
ar·cha·ic
är-ˈkā-ik
1
: typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage
archaic features of a fossil skull
2
: having the characteristics of primitive humans and their animal forebears especially as represented in the unconscious and appearing in behavior as manifestations of the unconscious
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