ELDER: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for ELDER?

Need another word that means the same as “elder”? Find 17 synonyms and 30 related words for “elder” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Elder” are: older, sr., senior, first, firstborn, more grown up, big, elderberry bush, old person, older person, leader, senior figure, official, patriarch, father, guru

Elder as a Noun

Definitions of "Elder" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “elder” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• A person who is older than one by a specified length of time.
• Any of numerous shrubs or small trees of temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere having white flowers and berrylike fruit.
• A person who is older than you are.
• A leader or senior figure in a tribe or other group.
• Any of various church officers.
• A member of a senate or governing body.
• People who are older than one.
• An official in the early Christian Church, or of various Protestant Churches and sects.

Synonyms of "Elder" as a noun (10 Words)

elderberry bush	A low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems.
father	A male parent also used as a term of address to your father. Margaret s father died at an early age.
guru	Each of the first ten leaders of the Sikh religion. A guru of genomics.
leader	An organization or company that is the most advanced or successful in a particular area. A natural leader.
official	A person holding public office or having official duties especially as a representative of an organization or government department. The golfer asked for an official who could give him a ruling.
old person	Past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old.
older person	Past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old.
patriarch	Title for the heads of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (in Istanbul and Alexandria and Moscow and Jerusalem. Hollywood s reigning patriarch rose to speak.
senior	A student in one of the higher forms of a senior school. The price is 7 for adults and 3 50 for seniors.
senior figure	An undergraduate student during the year preceding graduation.

Usage Examples of "Elder" as a noun

• A council of village elders.
• Schoolchildren were no less fascinated than their elders.
• She was two years his elder.
• He left the Church of which he had been an elder.

Elder as an Adjective

Definitions of "Elder" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “elder” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Used to distinguish between related famous people with the same name.
• Used of the older of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a father from his son.
• (of one or more out of a group of associated people) of a greater age.

Synonyms of "Elder" as an adjective (7 Words)

big	Fully developed. A big eater.
first	Ranking above all others. The first phase of his training.
firstborn	Denoting the first child born to a particular person. The firstborn child.
more grown up	Quantifier meaning greater in number.
older	Used of the older of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a father from his son. The older soldiers.
senior	Of or for the final year at a university or high school. The senior prom.
sr.	Used of the older of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a father from his son.

Usage Examples of "Elder" as an adjective

• Pliny the Elder.
• My elder daughter.
• The elder of the two sons.

Associations of "Elder" (30 Words)

aged	Aging as a preservative process aged is pronounced as one syllable. Aged rocks.
aging	The organic process of growing older and showing the effects of increasing age.
anachronistic	Belonging to a period other than that being portrayed. English public schools are anachronistic.
ancestor	A person, typically one more remote than a grandparent, from whom one is descended. He could trace his ancestors back to James the First.
antediluvian	Of or relating to the period before the biblical flood. Antediluvian man.
antiquated	Old-fashioned or outdated. This antiquated central heating system.
archaic	So extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period. A term with a rather archaic ring to it.
brother	A male with the same parents as someone else. The time is coming brothers for us to act.
daughter	A thing personified as a daughter in relation to its origin or source. We are the sons and daughters of Adam.
family	The children of a person or couple being discussed. The family refused to accept his will.
father	Treat with the protective care associated with a father. A singular letter from a lady requesting I would father a novel of hers.
forebear	An ancestor. Generations of his forebears had lived in London.
forefather	Person from an earlier time who contributed to the tradition shared by some group. The forefathers of modern British socialism.
gramps	The father of your father or mother.
grandfather	The person who founded or originated something. Smokers who worked here before the ban have been grandfathered.
grandma	The mother of your father or mother. Grandma didn't stop talking.
grandmother	The mother of your father or mother. My grandmother is ill.
grandpa	The father of your father or mother.
grandparent	A parent of your father or mother. It must be a great blessing to have Chloe s grandparents living nearby.
moot	Open to argument or debate. That is a moot question.
obsolescent	Becoming obsolete. Obsolescent equipment.
obsolete	Cause a product or idea to become obsolete by replacing it with something new. Obsolete words.
outdated	Old; no longer valid or fashionable. Outdated equipment.
paleolithic	Second part of the Stone Age beginning about 750,00 to 500,000 years BC and lasting until the end of the last ice age about 8,500 years BC. Paleolithic artifacts.
patriarch	A bishop of one of the most ancient Christian sees (Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and formerly Rome). He s the patriarch of all spin doctors.
senior	A student in one of the higher forms of a senior school. The people senior to me in my department.
sister	A fellow woman seen in relation to feminist issues. My sister married a musician.
superannuated	Outdated or obsolete through age or new developments. He left the house for the support of twelve superannuated wool carders.
uncle	A pawnbroker. He visited his uncle.
yore	Time long past.