hoary

adjective

ˈhȯr-ē How to pronounce hoary (audio)
Definition of hoarynext
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

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 hoary Connecticut’s three tree-roosting bat species include the eastern red, silver-haired, and hoary bats. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 22 Apr. 2026 Fourth walls are shattered, hoary tropes are dismantled, the body count climbs and a joke gets thrown in about the endless supply of Wayanses ready to keep the franchise going. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026 The most common species of bats found in Grand Teton National Park are little brown bats, followed by big brown, silver-haired, hoary, Yuma, long-legged, and long-eared bats, the agency said. — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2025 Ultimately, everyone’s happiness is denied, which makes for a cautionary critique of the hoary cliché of 1950s repression (the same falsification that was the basis of Todd Haynes’s drab lesbian drama Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara). — Armond White, National Review, 25 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hoary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoary
  1. ancient
  2. venerable
  3. old
  4. antique
  5. medieval
Adjective
  • That verdant vista of a piece of ancient, intricate architecture centered me in storied Osaka and proved a delightfully consistent through line for my stay.
    — Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
  • This phenomenon of gravitational lensing has been used to great effect to study ancient galaxies that would usually be too distant and faint to see when they are gravitationally lensed by foreground galaxy clusters.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of ancient
Adjective
  • The two women have booked an increasing number of speaking gigs over the past year, including at popular venues like Sloat Garden Centers and SummerWinds nurseries around the Bay Area, and even at the venerable Marin Art and Garden Center.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
  • The 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) is gearing up to celebrate the venerable Czech fest’s past and, at the same time, guide it into its future.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 June 2026
Definition of venerable
Adjective
  • The infant, who is 9 months old, was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital.
    — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
  • While students honed their skills at the Santa Monica studio for the last year and four months, Blanck found an old pilates studio in Pacific Highlands for rent, but the numbers just didn't add up.
    — Rina Nakano, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of old
Adjective
  • The event attracts over 60,000 spectators and showcases floats, marching bands, equestrians, dance groups, antique cars and community organizations.
    — Jane Tyska, Mercury News, 5 July 2026
  • Quince Lightweight Coverlets For a vintage vibe, pick up this coverlet that has a channel stitch reminiscent of antique quilts.
    — Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 4 July 2026
Definition of antique
Adjective
  • Enter Peskesi and the dozens of regenerative and natural wineries scattered across the southwest of Crete near quiet, picturesque Chania, which form its wine trail, a range from medieval-palace tasting rooms to sprawling vineyard operations.
    — Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 July 2026
  • Not many estates can claim to have a 1,000-year-old medieval tower in the backyard, but that’s exactly what anchors this historic property in the heart of Tuscany’s renowned Chianti wine region.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 1 July 2026
Definition of medieval

Browse Nearby Words

hoarse
hoary
hoax
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Hoary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoary. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on hoary

Nglish: Translation of hoary for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All