INDEX:
1. clothes/styles/words
2. machines/equipment
3. opinions/methods/systems
4. books/information
5. places
6. people
7. extremely old-fashioned
8. old-fashioned in a pleasant way
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ MODERN
see also
↑ OLD
↑ FASHIONABLE/NOT FASHIONABLE
↑ CONVENTIONAL/UNCONVENTIONAL
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1. clothes/styles/words
▷ old-fashioned /ˌəʊld ˈfæʃ ə nd◂/ [adjective]
old-fashioned clothes, styles, words etc are no longer considered modern or fashionable, although some people still wear them or still use them :
▪ I don’t wear that skirt now - it looks so old-fashioned.
▪ ‘Wireless’ is an old-fashioned word for radio.
▪ Albert was a tall, gangling man with long blond hair, like an old-fashioned rock star’s.
▷ dated /ˈdeɪtɪd, ˈdeɪtəd/ [adjective not usually before noun]
use this about clothes or styles that used to be fashionable, especially until recently, but now seem old-fashioned :
▪ Just look at the hairstyles in this photo -- they’re so dated!
▪ The song was a big hit last year, but it’s already starting to sound dated.
▷ be on the way out /biː ɒn ðə ˌweɪ ˈaʊt/ [verb phrase]
to be gradually becoming less popular or common after having been very popular or fashionable :
▪ It was said that coal was on the way out and would be replaced by nuclear energy.
▪ When I was in highschool disco was already on the way out.
2. machines/equipment
▷ old-fashioned /ˌəʊld ˈfæʃ ə nd◂/ [adjective]
old-fashioned machines and equipment have a design that is no longer modern :
▪ He rides one of those old-fashioned bikes with high handlebars.
▪ A lot of the machines at the factory are very old-fashioned.
▪ Old-fashioned ceiling fans have been making a comeback as a cheap and reliable alternative to air conditioning.
▷ outdated /ˌaʊtˈdeɪtɪd◂, ˌaʊtˈdeɪtəd◂/ [adjective]
use this about machines or equipment that use old-fashioned designs, and should be replaced with more modern ones :
▪ It is hard to run a business with outdated equipment.
▪ a rebel army, equipped only with outdated Russian weapons
▷ obsolete /ˈɒbsəliːtǁˌɑːbsəˈliːt/ [adjective]
use this about machines and equipment that are no longer being produced, and that seem old-fashioned because newer machines have been invented which can do the job much better :
▪ The old 5¼ inch floppy disks are now obsolete.
make something obsolete
▪ a new type of ‘Network Computer’, which could make existing PCs obsolete within five years
▷ antiquated /ˈæntɪkweɪtəd, ˈæntəkweɪtəd/ [adjective]
very old and old-fashioned and no longer suitable for modern needs :
▪ My mother’s antiquated vacuum cleaner still works, believe it or not.
▪ Hospitals suffer from inadequate facilities, antiquated equipment and shortages of medical supplies.
3. opinions/methods/systems
▷ old-fashioned /ˌəʊld ˈfæʃ ə nd◂/ [adjective]
old-fashioned opinions and ways of living were common in the past, but are not the way most people think and behave now :
▪ In those days, people believed that divorce was morally wrong, but this now seems very old-fashioned.
▪ He has some very old-fashioned ideas about women.
▷ outdated /ˌaʊtˈdeɪtɪd◂, ˌaʊtˈdeɪtəd◂/ [adjective]
outdated opinions, methods, or systems are not suitable for modern times and need to be changed and made more modern :
▪ Outdated laws and regulations are failing to keep crime on the Internet in check.
▪ Outdated textbooks, decrepit buildings, overcrowded classrooms - the list of problems is long and growing.
▪ The image of the civil service as a male, middle class bastion is now outdated.
▷ outmoded /aʊtˈməʊdɪd, aʊtˈməʊdəd/ [adjective usually before noun]
outmoded belief/attitude/way of thinking etc
a way of thinking that was once popular but is not useful or suitable anymore :
▪ The views of many of the senior professors reflect outmoded concepts and ideas.
▪ The government’s outmoded attitudes are dragging the whole country back into the nineteenth century.
▷ traditional /trəˈdɪʃ ə nəl/ [adjective]
traditional opinions, methods, or customs have existed for a long time, and have not been changed or affected by modern ideas :
▪ The local people still use traditional farming methods which have been used for hundreds of years.
▪ the traditional idea that a woman’s place is in the home
▪ Tom went to a very traditional boys’ school.
▷ unfashionable /ʌnˈfæʃ ə nəb ə l/ [adjective]
a belief or attitude that is unfashionable is no longer fashionable or popular :
▪ Smoking has become very unfashionable in the last ten years.
it is unfashionable to do something
▪ It’s unfashionable these days to say you want to get married and give up your job, isn’t it?
4. books/information
▷ out-of-date/out of date /ˌaʊt əv ˈdeɪt◂/ [adjective]
use this about books, maps etc that do not contain the most recent information, or about information that is no longer right because the facts have changed :
▪ The map we had with us was completely out of date.
▪ an out-of-date guidebook
5. places
▷ old-fashioned /ˌəʊld ˈfæʃ ə nd◂/ [adjective]
▪ In many ways the village is a very old-fashioned sort of place.
▪ Cromer is a charmingly old-fashioned resort that has changed little over the years.
▷ olde worlde /ˌəʊldi ˈwɜːʳldi◂/ [adjective phrase] British
describing something, especially a shop or room, that has deliberately been made to look old- fashioned so that people will think it is more attractive :
▪ I like your kitchen - it’s very olde worlde.
▪ a picturesque village with an ancient church, and plenty of olde worlde tea rooms
▷ be stuck/caught in a time-warp /biː ˌstʌk, ˌkɔːt ɪn ə ˈtaɪm wɔːʳp/ [verb phrase]
if a place is stuck in a time-warp, it has not changed and seems the same as it was many years ago :
▪ That restaurant is still stuck in some kind of late-seventies time-warp.
▪ The country had little contact with the outside world, and remained caught in something of a time-warp.
6. people
▷ old-fashioned /ˌəʊld ˈfæʃ ə nd◂/ [adjective]
▪ Mr Griffiths is a real old-fashioned teacher who still believes that learning lessons by heart is the best method.
▪ My Dad was very old-fashioned and didn’t approve of me going to nightclubs with my friends.
▷ be living in the past /biː ˌlɪvɪŋ ɪn ðə ˈpɑːstǁ-ˈpæst/ [verb phrase]
to think and behave as if life is still like it was when you were young, especially because you do not like the modern world :
▪ You’ve got to get over it, honey - you’ve got to stop living in the past.
▪ Critics say Buchanan is living in the past, and remind him that the 1950s was a time when women were shackled to the kitchen, and African-Americans held back by discrimination.
▷ behind the times /biː bɪˌhaɪnd ðə ˈtaɪmz/ [adjective phrase]
a person or organization who is behind the times, is old-fashioned because they have not changed while the world around them has changed :
▪ People in these parts tend to be way behind the times when it comes to issues such as women’s rights.
▪ Once the giants of British retailing, they are now seen as being behind the times.
▷ straitlaced/straightlaced /ˌstreɪtˈleɪst◂/ [adjective]
having a very strong, old-fashioned attitude to moral behaviour :
▪ My aunt’s very straitlaced - she’d be shocked if you mentioned sex.
▪ They lost touch with Hermine after she married a very straightlaced Lutheran minister, and disappeared from the social scene.
▷ fuddy duddy /ˈfʌdi ˌdʌdi/ [countable noun] informal
someone who you think is old-fashioned and boring because they disapprove of new ideas and are unwilling to change their attitudes :
▪ Don’t be such a fuddy duddy!
▪ The election broadcast made the President look like a fuddy duddy with ridiculously old-fashioned ideas.
fuddy-duddy [adjective]
▪ She has some rather fuddy-duddy ideas about what is proper music.
▷ old fogey /ˌəʊld ˈfəʊgi/ [countable noun] informal
someone, usually an old person, who you disapprove of because they prefer old-fashioned ideas and ways of doing things to modern ones :
▪ The old fogies all sit together and talk about the old days.
▪ This country is being run by a bunch of old fogies -- we need some fresh blood, people with initiative.
▷ old guard /ˈəʊld ˌgɑːʳd/ []
a group of people with old-fashioned opinions, who have been in an organization or society for a long time and oppose anyone who wants to change things :
▪ Inevitably, the revolution is affecting the old guard much more than the rest of us.
▪ The party’s old guard have their own candidate for leader.
▷ traditionalist /trəˈdɪʃ ə nəlɪst, trəˈdɪʃ ə nələst/ [countable noun]
a person who believes that the old ways of doing things are the best, and who does not like modern methods or ideas :
▪ I’m something of a traditionalist myself, I’d much rather use pen and paper than a word-processor.
▪ There are still many traditionalists in the church who strongly oppose the idea of women priests.
7. extremely old-fashioned
▷ medieval /ˌmediˈiːv ə l◂ǁˌmiː-/ [adjective]
extremely old-fashioned and therefore annoying :
▪ The plumbing in this house is medieval!
positively medieval
very medieval
▪ This so-called accounting system is positively medieval.
▷ out of the ark /ˌaʊt əv ði ˈɑːʳk/ [adjective phrase] British informal
extremely old-fashioned :
▪ Their washing machine looks like it came out of the ark.
▪ Her views on social policy are embarrassing -- really out of the ark.
▷ dinosaur /ˈdaɪnəsɔːʳ/ [countable noun usually singular]
a system, organization etc that is very old-fashioned and large and cannot continue to exist in the modern world :
▪ The Health Service has become a dinosaur. It needs radical reform if it is to survive.
▪ The line-up includes a number of rock-n-roll dinosaurs who should have hung up their guitars long ago.
▷ anachronism /əˈnækrənɪz ə m/ [countable noun usually singular]
something such as an organization or custom that belongs to a time in the past, and therefore appears very strange in the modern world :
▪ The harvest festival celebrations in the town are an anachronism since almost everyone who lives there nowadays works in an office.
anachronistic /əˌnækrəˈnɪstɪk◂/ [adjective]
▪ Many people believe that the role of the Royal Family in Britain is anachronistic.
▷ archaic /ɑːʳˈkeɪ-ɪk/ [adjective]
use this about something that was used a long time ago but which is now considered too old-fashioned and needs replacing :
▪ The text was full of archaic spellings.
▪ The laws that decide who owns items discovered on an archeological exploration are ridiculously archaic.
▷ Dickensian /dɪˈkenziən/ [adjective]
buildings, conditions etc that are Dickensian are extremely old-fashioned and below acceptable standards, for example because they are dangerous or unhealthy :
▪ They were living in a Dickensian apartment block without proper heating or running water.
positively Dickensian
▪ The working conditions in the factory were positively Dickensian.
▷ the dark ages /ðə ˈdɑːʳk ˌeɪdʒə̇z/ [noun phrase]
use this to talk about a society, system, or way of thinking that is extremely old-fashioned, especially in its social attitudes :
▪ Huge amounts of aid will be needed if this society is ever to drag itself out of the dark ages.
▪ My brother still doesn’t like the idea of having a woman boss - he’s stuck in the dark ages!
8. old-fashioned in a pleasant way
▷ old-fashioned /ˌəʊld ˈfæʃ ə nd◂/ [adjective]
old-fashioned in a way that reminds you of nice things in the past :
▪ The town has a lovely old-fashioned charm about it.
▪ He was a nice, old-fashioned gentleman who would hold open the door for you or offer to carry your bags.
good old-fashioned
▪ good old-fashioned home cooking
▷ quaint /kweɪnt/ [adjective]
old-fashioned and unusual, but attractive and interesting - use this about small buildings or places, or about customs and beliefs :
▪ We stayed in a quaint little fishing village in Cornwall.
▪ quaint country cottages
▪ Stigler scoffed at the quaint idea of university as a place where a professor and a small group of students can sit in a study and discuss great thoughts.