the ancients

plural noun

: the people who lived in ancient times : the people of ancient Greece and Rome
a temple built by the ancients
the gods of the ancients

Examples of the ancients in a Sentence

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There was nothing tame about the dog of the heavens as conceived by the ancients. Joe Rao, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2026 Another notable thinker after the ancients who addressed this question was Hobbes. George G. Szpiro, Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026 From the beginning, alongside the rules for building in the style of the ancients, Renaissance architects set forth rules for transgressing them. Mario Carpo, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025 Falling in love felt so powerful that the ancients thought seeing the love object caused a wound in your eyes. Shadi Bartsch, The Mercury News, 3 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for the ancients

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“The ancients.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20ancients. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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