antediluvian: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Formal, Literary, Humorous
Quick answer
What does “antediluvian” mean?
Belonging to the time before the biblical flood.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
Belonging to the time before the biblical flood; extremely old-fashioned or out of date.
Used to describe ideas, customs, or technologies that are considered ridiculously ancient or obsolete in a modern context.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. Slightly more common in British English due to a greater prevalence of classical/religious vocabulary in formal registers.
Connotations
Identical connotations of extreme antiquity and obsolescence in both varieties.
Frequency
Very low frequency in both, but marginally higher in UK corpus data. Considered a 'rare' or 'advanced' word.
Grammar
How to Use “antediluvian” in a Sentence
[be/become/seem] + antediluvian[regard/view/consider] + something + as + antediluvianVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “antediluvian” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- [No standard verb form]
American English
- [No standard verb form]
adverb
British English
- [Rarely used] The office was antediluvianly organised.
American English
- [Rarely used] The machinery operated antediluvianly slowly.
adjective
British English
- His views on workplace hierarchy are frankly antediluvian.
- They discovered antediluvian remains in the sediment.
American English
- The antediluvian computer system finally crashed for good.
- She dismissed the policy as an antediluvian relic.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Used critically to describe outdated business models or practices. 'The company's antediluvian filing system caused constant delays.'
Academic
Used in historical, literary, or sociological texts to describe pre-modern eras or obsolete theories.
Everyday
Rare. Used for humorous exaggeration. 'My grandfather still uses an antediluvian flip phone.'
Technical
Not typically used in hard sciences. May appear in archaeology or history.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “antediluvian”
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “antediluvian”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “antediluvian”
- Misspelling as 'antedeluvian' or 'antediluvian'.
- Using it to mean simply 'old' without the strong connotation of being absurdly outdated.
- Using it as a noun (it is primarily an adjective).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Extremely rarely. Its primary and almost exclusive use is as an adjective. The noun form would refer to a person who lived before the flood, which is not a modern usage.
Not always, but usually. In a literal, archaeological sense it can be neutral ('antediluvian fossils'). However, when applied to ideas or systems, it is overwhelmingly pejorative, implying foolish obsolescence.
'Archaic' simply means belonging to an earlier period. 'Antediluvian' is much stronger, suggesting something is not just old but comically, impossibly outdated, like it's from before a mythical catastrophe. It's more emotionally charged.
It's pronounced 'dih-LOO-vee-an'. The stress is on the 'LOO'. Think of the word 'dilute' which shares the Latin root for 'wash'.
Belonging to the time before the biblical flood.
Antediluvian is usually formal, literary, humorous in register.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[None specific to this word]”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: ANTE (before) + DILUVIAN (relating to a flood). It's so old, it's from 'before the flood' in the Bible.
Conceptual Metaphor
TIME IS SPACE (the distant past is a place 'before the flood'); OBSOLESCENCE IS PRIMITIVENESS.
Practice
Quiz
In which context would 'antediluvian' be LEAST appropriate?