antediluvian
3 synonyms and 4 antonyms for antediluvian, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adj — Belonging to the time before the great flood in the Bible, or, more broadly, before a similarly huge flood in another story.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. adj
Belonging to the time before the great flood in the Bible, or, more broadly, before a similarly huge flood in another story.
2. adj
Extremely old; ancient.
“The air inside smelled antediluvian, regal somehow, with traces of pipe tobacco, tea leaves, cooking sherry, and the earthen aroma of stone architecture.”
Opposites
Etymology
PIE word *dwís From ante- (prefix meaning ‘prior to in time’) + Latin dīluvium (“a flood”) + -an (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives; and forming agent nouns), referring the story of Noah’s Ark, through which God rescues Noah, his family, and examples of all the world’s animals from the great flood...
Full origin of antediluvian →