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2
as in antique
something belonging to or surviving from an earlier period in my grandparents' attic are many "groovy" relics from the 1960s

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3
as in dinosaur
one that has passed the peak of effectiveness or popularity his courtly manners marked him as a relic of a more refined and formal era

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4
as in remains
relics plural a dead body though it is believed that missionary died in New Guinea, his relics have never been found

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of relic However the trade saga develops from here, the first skirmishes in a trade war, a dreaded relic of the Great Depression, have begun in the 21st century. Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025 The better-than-expected jobs numbers for March are relics of a bygone era in the U.S. economy and won’t stand in the way of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates later this year, some economists said. Josh Fellman, Quartz, 4 Apr. 2025 Continuing to gather clues and speculate on the nature of the odd signals, Spock and Una uncover more signs of hazardous alien life and mysterious Federation relics. Jeff Spry, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2025 One of the core appeals of a games subscription service is the opportunity to bounce between big-budget megatons and offbeat relics on the same machine. Luke Winkie, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for relic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relic
Noun
  • Despite their rarity, the artifacts can help historians better understand and contextualize life in the region.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 24 Apr. 2025
  • As such, while its physical gold value is measurable, the artifact itself is considered priceless.
    Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Then there’s Bittner Antiques of Shelburne, Vt., which specializes in a range of antiques, vintage, and old objects, which include watches, jewelry, silver, fine art, books and ephemera, photography, military, furniture, collectibles, coins and currency, Americana, and decorative art.
    Anthony DeMarco, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
  • Fossil collector Kun-Yu Tsai was perusing antiques in 2008 when an unusual-looking jawbone caught his eye.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Among them are the woolly mammoth, that Colossal has already announced plans to revive, and even dinosaurs, which the startup has not yet commented on, despite speculation.
    Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
  • In addition to dragons, Universal is bringing dinosaurs to the format.
    Carolyn Giardina, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Two Italian regions particularly show evidence of these first traces.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Per a project summary, the team discovered caves filled with paintings and traces of hunter-gatherer settlements.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Sun-soaked, punk rock ’70s California, a fraught family safari in Africa, a frustrated has-been and a digital future portrayed in a PowerPoint presentation show how disparate lives can affect each other.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Her being nominated for playing a grotesque has-been is, at the very least, a delicious irony.
    Tom Gliatto, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • White dwarfs, conversely, are the cosmic corpses of smaller stars with masses more in line with that of the sun.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Harry helps his maid, Bella gets blackmailed, and Archie's corpse resurfaces.
    Matt Cabral, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • However, the comet’s remnant is still visible and will be for a few weeks, according to experts.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 19 Apr. 2025
  • The space projectile was later identified as a remnant of a battery pallet thrown out of the International Space Station three years earlier.
    Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • In 2016, a sudden outbreak of anthrax in the Yamal Peninsula — linked to the thawed carcass of an infected reindeer — left dozens ill and killed a child.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The team also recovered animal bones with cut marks and stone tools used to butcher carcasses from the site.
    Katie Hunt, CNN, 12 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Relic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relic. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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