as in ancient
dating or surviving from the distant past
hoary oak trees with dripping moss and gnarled limbs shaded us from the sun
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples 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 hoary
And Williams is a hoary veteran next to his squad-mate Lamine Yamal, who has yet to turn seventeen.
—
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 29 June 2024
Admittedly, there was less hoary public invocation of the doctrine, but attendance at the periodic summits remained de rigeur for the prime minister.
—Sumit Ganguly, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2016
This revival, despite some big rewrites by Harvey Fierstein, is still stuck around the sort of romantic cliches and hoary old body-image issues that most Broadway musicals strenuously avoid these days.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2024
The band shares hoary tales of substance abuse, desperate getaways and awkward crushes.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hoary 
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 29 June 2024
Admittedly, there was less hoary public invocation of the doctrine, but attendance at the periodic summits remained de rigeur for the prime minister.
—Sumit Ganguly, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2016
This revival, despite some big rewrites by Harvey Fierstein, is still stuck around the sort of romantic cliches and hoary old body-image issues that most Broadway musicals strenuously avoid these days.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2024
The band shares hoary tales of substance abuse, desperate getaways and awkward crushes.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hoary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoary
Adjective
-
Last year, an ancient, still-active volcano was found off the Canadian coast, covered in millions of giant eggs laid by Pacific white skates (a hauntingly beautiful cartilaginous fish that looks like a stingray).Scott Travers, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
-
Other lineages of ancient humans also went extinct around 40,000 years ago and disappeared just like the Neanderthals ultimately did, said Johannes Krause, director at the department of archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.Katie Hunt, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
This venerable deli, open for 35 years in San Francisco and 29 years in Foster City, boasted a whopping 11 variations on the cheesesteak theme, including versions with chicken, salami, mushrooms, pizza toppings or all-vegetarian on torpedo rolls.Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2024
-
While the venerable medical drama is known for bringing back cast members, Henderson is one of few who have never been back.Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
The show skips across the decades, dramatizing the interviews an older Dolours (Maxine Peake) did for a Boston College oral history of the Troubles, which were taped with the promise that they would be released only after participants’ deaths.Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
-
By contrast, the prospect of citizenships and alliances—and perhaps conquests or crusades—structured around the opinions, beliefs, and subjective identities of ordinary people in times of peace would require a new (or very old) conception of empire.Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
For months, Bode sourced vintage and antique ornaments, including bulbs, plastic candies, and wooden miniatures such as instruments, birds, and a sleigh.Elise Taylor, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024
-
The bones of knackered cattle in the glue that held his antique books together.Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
The other new study, in Nature, relied on an analysis of six genomes from remains discovered in Ranis, a cave site in present-day Germany that sits below a medieval castle.Evan Bush, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2024
-
The beautiful city of Maastricht in the Netherlands is always a delight to visit for its medieval architecture and its vibrant cultural scene, which includes FashionClash, an annual festival every November that’s a brilliant mashup of fashion, art, film and performance.Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near hoary
Cite this Entry
“Hoary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoary. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share