venerable
adjective/ˈvenərəbl/
/ˈvenərəbl/
- [usually before noun] (formal) venerable people or things deserve respect because they are old, important, wise, etc.
- The president was a venerable old man with white hair and a gracious manner.
- The academy is considered a venerable institution.
- The country has a venerable tradition of hospitality.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- the Venerable…[only before noun] (in the Anglican Church) a title of respect used when talking about an archdeacon
- the Venerable Martin Roberts
- the Venerable…[only before noun] (in the Roman Catholic Church) a title given to a dead person who is very holy but who has not yet been made a saint
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin venerabilis, from the verb venerari.
Check pronunciation:
venerable