RELIC Synonyms: 58 Similar and Opposite Words

relic

noun

ˈre-lik

Definition of relic

as in artifact

a tiny often physical indication of something lost or vanished a crude stone ax and other relics of the Neanderthals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in antique

something belonging to or surviving from an earlier period in my grandparents' attic are many "groovy" relics from the 1960s

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as in dinosaur

one that has passed the peak of effectiveness or popularity his courtly manners marked him as a relic of a more refined and formal era

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in remains

relics plural a dead body though it is believed that missionary died in New Guinea, his relics have never been found

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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 relic The Slovenian is not the only relic that has emerged from Europe's drying rivers. — ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026 Yet to me, that history of my grandmother’s single light bulb and low bill is more than a relic of early electrification. — Destenie Nock, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026 Enclosed by a network of 13th-century walls, the narrow streets of old York host myriad awe-inspiring relics from its pre-industrial past, perhaps the most famous being York Minster, one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals anywhere. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026 The fragment is a Ptolemaic relic that dates to around 285-250 BCE, and was rendered with a stylus, using charcoal and water on papyrus. — News Desk, Artforum, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for relic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for relic

Noun

Now, agents are capable of performing sophisticated workflows and traversing multiple applications by leveraging a critical artifact of modern computing, the application programming interface (API).

— George C. Lee II, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
The artifacts cited in this particular conviction include a bust of Cleopatra, items from a princess’s grave and a stone slab affiliated with Tutankhamun.

— News Desk, Artforum, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of artifact

Noun

Incorporating antique finds, greenery, and utilizing your home’s quirky features, like alcoves and nooks, are just a few of the ways your home is set apart from the rest on the block.

— Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Aug. 2026
Paintings, artwork, sculptures, stamps, statuary, other collector’s pieces (such as pieces of archaeology), as well as antiques older than 100 years but not over 250 years old are listed, as are suitcases, trunks, vanities and other types of bags.

— Zachary Folk, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of antique

Noun

And Vernal itself was fun, with big fibreglass dinosaurs in front of half of its cafés, petrol stations and hotels, including our own, the Dinosaur Inn & Suites.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 30 Aug. 2026
This short film, created by Little Nemo cartoonist Winsor McCay, is one of the very best dinosaur movies, a groundbreaking work of animation and one of the first examples of incorporating the medium into live-action.

— James Grebey, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of dinosaur

Noun

Homecoming aside, there’s still the Trawler to worry about, a fact we’re reminded of when another victim turns up on a playground, this time with a pentagram carved into his back and fish corpses shoved into his wounds.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
Craig and Sarah have each been charged with failure to report a corpse of a child and disturbing a human burial site, both felonies, according to their respective court records.

— Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of corpse

Noun

Potsherds discarded after an 11th-century feast at Etowah—an Indigenous city just north of what’s now Atlanta—contained traces of cacao, a raw ingredient of chocolate.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
In Ossoff, the first millennial senator, Rogers sees traces of an earlier era.

— Sam Gringlas, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of trace

Noun

Brett Goldstein’s seething has-been, Roy Kent, has replaced Ted as the men’s coach; Beard (co-creator Brendan Hunt) stuck around to assist Roy but has gone feral in the absence of his professional soulmate.

— Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2026
In the Seventies, he was mocked as a Vegas has-been in a jumpsuit; in the Eighties, as a cultural colonizer.

— Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026

Definition of has-been

Noun

Broken pieces of a golden temple were seen jutting out from the sand, while the carcass of a dead buffalo littered the area.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
One of dogs was fatally shot by a Mecklenburg County sheriff’s deputy, and its carcass will be submitted for a necropsy and rabies testing, officials said.

— Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of carcass

Noun

Dolly's remnants also bringing rain Elsewhere, the hurricane center is keeping an eye on whether the remnants of Tropical Storm Dolly could develop again.

— Doyle Rice, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Dolly’s remnants are now just a surface trough of low pressure producing a disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms stretching from over portions of Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas.

— Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of remnant

Browse Nearby Words

reliant

relic

relics

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Style

“Relic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relic. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of relic

noun

Example Sentences

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