fossil

noun

Definition of fossilnext
as in conservative
a person with old-fashioned ideas some old fossil who thinks that a boy and a girl shouldn't be together unsupervised until they are engaged

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 fossil At a fossil site in northwestern Canada called Raven’s Throat River, the mudstone still holds 500-million-year-old coprolites, some as wide as five centimeters, along with complete fossils of trilobites and mollusk-like hyoliths with conical shells. — ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026 But the world’s appetite for fossils has exploded in recent years, with social media awash in videos of fossil hunters displaying their finds, and prices for perfect specimens soaring. — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 12 Aug. 2026 This suggests that these reptiles were more widely distributed across the world during the Triassic than the fossil record indicated. — The Conversation, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026 Keele’s team may have cleared a path for cheaper zero-emission fuel and fossil-free everyday products simply by changing how the chemical process works. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fossil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fossil
  1. conservative
  2. veteran
  3. fogy
  4. mossback
Noun
  • West’s case also dovetailed with an anti-surrogacy campaign recently undertaken by some conservatives, Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis who specializes in reproductive health, told CNN.
    — Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Democrats say the flip indicates voters want education to move on from political fights over social issues, while conservatives point to their wins.
    — Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of conservative
Noun
  • The 30-year veteran firefighter was battling pancreatic cancer.
    — Ginger Allen, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • As for music, expect a broad menu of noisemakers with national, regional and local buzz, programmed by co-organizer and veteran music promoter Steev Rullman of PureHoney Magazine and Bumblefest fame.
    — Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of veteran
Noun
  • There’s no old fogey-ness to Lorne.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
  • For the benefit of us old fogies?
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026
Definition of fogy
Noun
  • This man performed in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Assumed all parts from mossbacks to boys young.
    — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2019
Definition of mossback

Browse Nearby Words

fosses
fossil
fossilized
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fossil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fossil. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fossil

Nglish: Translation of fossil for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fossil

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