How to Use olden in a Sentence

olden

adjective
  • What was life like in the olden days?
  • Fiction back in the olden days.
    — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Yep, kids, in the olden days, parents had to lug around one of those to record home movies.
    — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 19 Sep. 2024
  • In olden times, sailors used the frayed end of a rope dipped in saltwater.
    — Michael E. Ruane, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Mar. 2020
  • In the olden days, a stand-up comedy fan might think to watch two or three specials a year.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Prefer learning about the, ahem, saucier side of olden times?
    — Jenna Schnuer, Anchorage Daily News, 28 June 2021
  • That myth also implies that the unions that emerged in those olden times are no longer necessary.
    — David Scott Witwer, The Conversation, 26 Nov. 2019
  • That myth also implies that the unions that emerged in those olden times are no longer necessary.
    — David Scott Witwer, Quartz, 5 Dec. 2019
  • In those golden olden days, pop idols were thought of in the most hallowed terms possible.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 May 2026
  • Just like in the olden days, Antioch had the coal mines and people worked there.
    — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 27 June 2024
  • In ye olden days of 2012, e-books were often cheaper than hard copies.
    — Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 26 May 2023
  • When dinner was over, the kids left the house and went outside to play, which is something children did in the olden days.
    — Lisa Scottoline, Philly.com, 24 June 2017
  • This wasn’t a problem back in olden times, when the setting of the sun ended light exposure for the day.
    — Brian Resnick, Vox, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Ice over moving water, like rivers and creeks, is never safe, even though people used to do it all the time in the olden days.
    — Ray Petelin, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2026
  • In ye olden days, a lord or lady might wear a locket holding an image of their beloved or a ring made of a lock of their lover's hair.
    — Elizabeth Logan, Teen Vogue, 18 Jan. 2018
  • But now One Chicago bar is taking the Mai Tai back to the olden days.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2023
  • In the olden days, a journalist might have pressed Sinner, hopeful of getting that first quote.
    — Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2025
  • In the olden days, writers were taught to put the mark –30– at the bottom of a story to indicate the end.
    — Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
  • David, Don Quixote lived in olden times, when people were very strict about the kind of stories that were allowed to be told.
    — J. M. Coetzee, Harper's Magazine, 27 Apr. 2020
  • In the olden days, a lot of winter beers were conceptualized as stronger with more alcohol.
    — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 24 Dec. 2025
  • Yes, a long time ago was a decade when the coolest thing a girl could have was a collection of dolls with outfits and books designed to teach them about the olden days.
    — Maura Judkis, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2023
  • De Angeli’s light use of olden-day language is lilting and skillful, giving color and depth to the tale.
    — Sarah Schutte, National Review, 20 June 2021
  • The midwife suggested finding a milk donor — a concept Christensen thought was just for the olden days.
    — Meredith Newman, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024
  • The Cesar salad is served tableside in a throwback to the olden, golden days.
    — Liza B. Zimmerman, Forbes, 12 Nov. 2021
  • The handmade crystal decanter is designed around the shape of a ‘dirk,’ a Scottish dagger of olden times.
    — Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2023
  • In the olden days, celebs would wear sunglasses inside the show — more to hide their clear enjoyment of the libations than to look cool.
    — Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
  • However, the cost of living has risen in Seattle since the olden days, and these jokers are making about the same salary.
    — Lincee Ray, EW.com, 5 May 2023
  • Taylor has been designing for the company since back in ye olden days of 2009.
    — Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 23 Aug. 2017
  • In ye olden days, these cards would store some actual data like contacts and messages, but with the advent of smartphones, all of that moved to the cloud.
    — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 3 Mar. 2023
  • In the olden days, people applied perfume and talcum powder to try to cover up the smell of BO.
    — WIRED, 30 Sep. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'olden.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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