venerable
/ˈvɛnəɹəbl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.27 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position.
adj
Ancient, antiquated or archaic.
adj
Made sacred especially by religious or historical association.
adj
Giving an impression of aged goodness and benevolence.
adj
A form of address for an archdeacon in the Anglican Church.
adj
The description in the Roman Catholic Church of someone in the first stages of canonisation.
adj
The description of some saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Example Sentences
- "Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations."
- "We looked at the venerable stream not in the vivid flush of a short day that comes and departs for ever, but in the pacific yet august light of abiding memories."
- "And then bills were sent in, and the question arose, what could Jude do with his great-aunt's heavy old furniture if he left the town to travel he knew not whither? This, and the necessity of ready money, compelled him to decide on an auction, much as he would have preferred to keep the venerable goods."
Etymology
From Middle French vénérable, from Old French, from Latin venerabilis.
Inflected Forms
more venerable (comparative)
most venerable (superlative)
Venerables (plural)
Derived Forms
Phrases
Venerable Bede
Frequently Paired Words
Venerable Bede