1
as in adults
a person of advanced years
in that Asian society elders are accorded great respect
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in superiors
one who is above another in rank, station, or office
as your elder in the company, he is within his rights to tell you what to do
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ancestors
one who is older than another
it wouldn't hurt to show a little more respect for your elders
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in deans
the senior member of a group
as the elder of the contingent of living former presidents, he was accorded a place of highest honor at the ceremonies
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of elders
Metcalfe Park Elders is a series of profiles featuring elders living in Milwaukee's Metcalfe Park neighborhood who share their personal stories, memories and vision for the future of their community.
—
April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 9 Feb. 2026
In Neihardt’s book, Black Elk’s tribal elders instruct him to stage his revelation as a performance so that its power might circulate among his people.
—Shannon Taggart, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
But Yungblud has collected co-signs from elders like Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and the late Ozzy Osbourne, and this category has delivered Greta Van Fleet a Grammy, so maybe brace for something like that as well.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
High school students have walked out of class, and elders have turned up to protests in the frigid cold.
—David Ostendorf, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
In a world where plenty of rap elders are content to roll out unchallenging albums to steadfast fanbases, still knows how to hold your head underwater.
—Dylan Green, Pitchfork, 28 Jan. 2026
Joe Klaas, 46, is one of a fourth generation of descendants of the Baller family elders who founded the place.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
The Jewish elders in the ghetto offered Gens the position of the Jewish chief of police in 1941.
—Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2026
What Mager is showing here is the difference between kids and adults, the openness and willingness to be bold and confront things head on with matter-of-fact honesty in a world that is being screwed up by their elders and those in charge.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 9 Feb. 2026
In Neihardt’s book, Black Elk’s tribal elders instruct him to stage his revelation as a performance so that its power might circulate among his people.
—Shannon Taggart, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
But Yungblud has collected co-signs from elders like Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and the late Ozzy Osbourne, and this category has delivered Greta Van Fleet a Grammy, so maybe brace for something like that as well.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
High school students have walked out of class, and elders have turned up to protests in the frigid cold.
—David Ostendorf, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
In a world where plenty of rap elders are content to roll out unchallenging albums to steadfast fanbases, still knows how to hold your head underwater.
—Dylan Green, Pitchfork, 28 Jan. 2026
Joe Klaas, 46, is one of a fourth generation of descendants of the Baller family elders who founded the place.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
The Jewish elders in the ghetto offered Gens the position of the Jewish chief of police in 1941.
—Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2026
What Mager is showing here is the difference between kids and adults, the openness and willingness to be bold and confront things head on with matter-of-fact honesty in a world that is being screwed up by their elders and those in charge.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elders
Noun
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Consumers who buy Affordable Care Act insurance – as well as older adults and low-income families enrolled in government health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid – typically get drug discounts through their insurance plans.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
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The writings of the person who killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville can be made available to the public, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But when Commissioner Marty Makary presented that list for sign-off to the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the FDA, and to the White House in October, his superiors shot it down, the people said.—
Elaine Chen,
STAT,
4 Feb. 2026
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In 2018, Ruis was brought up on department charges for not informing his superiors about changes to an order of protection filed against him by his estranged wife at the time.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Connie Martin always knew who her ancestors were growing up.—
Carolyn Stein,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
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Some of those ancestors left Africa to explore Europe.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Additionally, the university gave deans of schools and colleges the opportunity to request exemptions for non-core curriculum courses.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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The university says students will have the option to attend some classes virtually, depending on their courses, and guidance on that will come from their deans' offices.—
Ubah Ali,
CBS News,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The coming-of-age boxing drama opened to strong box office results in Taiwan in January and stars Golden Horse best new performer nominee Lin Yi-ting alongside veterans Tsai Chen-nan and You An-shun.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
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Kudrna plans to continue working with the veterans in camp this spring.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Most oldsters like myself still will probably find revisiting the piece enjoyable.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
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But Italian brainrot’s invisible massiveness, totally foreign to oldsters but beloved by children across continents and languages, is a compelling and chilling showcase of our frazzled internet culture landscape.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Support for the measure was offered by some, including union leaders, who warned residents, particularly seniors, are likely to struggle if a local solution to federal budget cuts isn’t adopted.—
Sierra Lopez,
Mercury News,
12 Feb. 2026
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These types of security cameras help many people feel their homes are safer and can strengthen a broader security system, especially for seniors who live alone.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In 2021, only 10% of medical schools required geriatrics courses, down from 23% in 2005, and only about 38 percent included the training as part of, say, their internal medicine programs.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Janice Grandi is a primary care physician working in geriatrics.—
Janice Grandi,
Mercury News,
24 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Elders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elders. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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