Meanings
venerable1
comparative more venerable · superlative most venerable
- Commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position.
1 more example
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.
2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845 - Worthy of reverence.
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.
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 194, column 1Synonyms: estimable, honorable, respectable · Antonyms: contemptible
- Ancient, antiquated or archaic.
1 more example
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.
1894 December – 1895 November, Thomas Hardy, chapter VI, in Jude the Obscure, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], published 1896, →OCLC, part V (At Aldbrickham and Elswhere), page 360Synonyms: aged, dated, hoary, ancient, aged, age-old, antediluvian, auld
- Made sacred especially by religious or historical association.
- Giving an impression of aged goodness and benevolence.
Venerable2
comparative more Venerable · superlative most Venerable
- A form of address for an archdeacon in the Anglican Church.
- The description in the Roman Catholic Church of someone in the first stages of canonisation.
- The description of some saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveAncient, antiquated or archaic.
nounA title indicating respect, prefixed to the names of Buddhist monks and nuns.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveimpressive by reason of age
adjectiveprofoundly honored
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinvenerabilis
- Middle Frenchvénérable
- Englishvenerable
From Middle French vénérable, from Old French, from Latin venerabilis.
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σεβάσμιος, σεβαστός
- σεβάσμιος (sebásmios)commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- σεβαστός (sebastós)worthy of reverence
Basque agurgarri
- agurgarridescription in the Roman Catholic Church of someone in the first stages of canonisation
Bulgarian уважаван, почитан
- уважаван (uvažavan)commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- почитан (počitan)worthy of reverence
- преподобен (prepodoben)sacred by association
Chinese Mandarin 德高望重的, 可敬
- 德高望重的 (dégāowàngzhòng de)commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- 可敬 (kějìng)worthy of reverence
Czech ctihodný, vážený
- ctihodnýcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- váženýcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- ctihodnýworthy of reverence
- ctihodnýancient, antiquated or archaic
Finnish kunnioitettava, kunnioitettava
- kunnioitettavacommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- kunnioitettavaworthy of reverence
- vanhanaikainenancient, antiquated or archaic
- kunnianarvoisaform of address for an archdeacon in the Anglican Church
- kunnioitettavadescription in the Roman Catholic Church of someone in the first stages of canonisation
- kunnioitettavadescription of some saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church
French vénérable, vénérable
- vénérablecommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- vénérableworthy of reverence
- vénérableancient, antiquated or archaic
- vénérablesacred by association
- vénérableradiating goodness and benevolence
German ehrwürdig, geschätzt
- ehrwürdigcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- geschätztcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- respektabelcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- verehrenswertworthy of reverence
- verehrungswürdigworthy of reverence
- veraltetancient, antiquated or archaic
- anachronistischancient, antiquated or archaic
- archaischancient, antiquated or archaic
- geheiligtsacred by association
- gütigradiating goodness and benevolence
Greek σεβάσμιος
- σεβάσμιος (sevásmios)commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
Hindi श्रद्धास्पद, श्रद्धास्पद
- श्रद्धास्पद (śraddhāspad)commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- श्रद्धास्पद (śraddhāspad)worthy of reverence
Hungarian patinás, tiszteletet ébresztő/parancsoló
- patináscommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- tiszteletet ébresztő/parancsolócommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- tiszteletre méltóworthy of reverence
- ősiancient, antiquated or archaic
- ódonancient, antiquated or archaic
- tisztelendősacred by association
- nagytiszteletűsacred by association
- tiszteletre méltósacred by association
Icelandic virðulegur, æruverðugur
- virðulegurcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- æruverðugurcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- sem vekur virðingucommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- virðulegurworthy of reverence
- æruverðugurworthy of reverence
- sem vekur virðinguworthy of reverence
Italian venerabile, venerando
- venerabilecommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- venerandocommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- onorevolecommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- rispettabilecommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- sacrosacred by association
- sacrasacred by association
Japanese 敬うべき, 崇高な
- 敬うべき (uyamau beki)worthy of reverence
- 崇高な (sūko na)worthy of reverence
- 立派な (rippa na)worthy of reverence
Latin venerābilis
- venerābiliscommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
Polish szacowny, czcigodny
- szacownycommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- czcigodnycommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- czcigodnyworthy of reverence
- sędziwyancient, antiquated or archaic
Russian уважа́емый, достопочтенный
- уважа́емый (uvažájemyj)commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- достопочтенный (dostopočtennyj)worthy of reverence
- дре́вний (drévnij)ancient, antiquated or archaic
- милостивый (milostivyj)radiating goodness and benevolence
Spanish venerable, venerable
- venerablecommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- venerableworthy of reverence
Swedish respektabel, vördad
- respektabelcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- vördadcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- ärevördigworthy of reverence
- ärevördigancient, antiquated or archaic
Turkish muhterem, saygıdeğer
- muhteremcommanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position
- saygıdeğerworthy of reverence
Ukrainian пошти́вний
- пошти́вний (poštývnyj)radiating goodness and benevolence
Cite this entry
venerable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/venerable
“venerable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/venerable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “venerable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/venerable.
Source: venerable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.