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antique

an·tique/ˌænˈtik/adjective, noun, verb

antique is spelled A-N-T-I-Q-U-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (an·tique). It appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Antique, the name). As an adjective, antique means “Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in antique?

Letters7: A-N-T-I-Q-U-E
Syllables2: an·tique
In writing7.2 times per million words; the 8,784th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is antique?

Antique appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Antique, the name.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce antique?

  • UK /ˌanˈtiːk/
  • US /ˌænˈtik/
  • /ˌænˈtiːk/

Antique has 2 syllables, split an·tique in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-antique.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with antique

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

antic vs antique0 B

Also written: antic.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with antique?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as antique from its last stressed vowel (/ik/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of antique

  • antiquer comparative
  • antiquest superlative
  • antiq.
  • antiques plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • antiquing participle, present
  • antiqued participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does antique mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.

  2. 2

    Belonging to former times, not modern, out of date, old-fashioned.

  3. 3

    Designating a style of type.

  4. 4

    Embossed without gilt.

  5. 5

    Synonym of old (“of color: subdued, as if faded over time”).

  6. 6

    obsoleteSynonym of antic, specifically

  7. 7

    obsoleteFantastic, odd, wild, antic.

noun

  1. 1

    An old object perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance.

  2. 2

    An object of ancient times.

  3. 3

    The style or manner of ancient times, used especially of Greek and Roman art.

  4. 4

    derogatoryAn old person.

  5. 5

    obsoleteA man of ancient times.

  6. 6

    A style of type of thick and bold face in which all lines are of equal or nearly equal thickness.

  7. 7

    obsoleteGrotesque entertainment; an antic.

  8. 8

    obsoleteA performer in an antic; or in general, a burlesque performer, a buffoon.

verb

  1. 1

    To search or shop for antiques.

  2. 2

    To make (an object) appear to be an antique in some way.

  3. 3

    To emboss without gilding.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate antique?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of antique: antiq..

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Antique in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchancien, antique (old; out of date)
Germanantik (old; out of date), Antiquität (old piece)
Portugueseantigo, antiquado (old; out of date), antiguidade (old piece)
Spanishantiguo (old; out of date), antigüedad (old piece)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does antique come from?

Borrowed from French antique (“ancient, old”), from Latin antiquus (“former, earlier, ancient, old”), from ante (“before”); see ante-. Doublet of antic.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after antique