What does antiquating mean?
To antiquate something is to render it old-fashioned, outmoded, or obsolete — typically because a newer alternative has taken its place. The word appears most often in its participial form, 'antiquating', describing an ongoing process rather than a completed state: technologies, methods, ideas, and even skills can all be antiquated by progress. A smartphone model is antiquated by its successor; a printing technique is antiquated by digital publishing; a professional skill may be antiquated by automation. The term carries a mildly negative connotation, since it implies loss of usefulness or relevance, though the process itself is usually framed as an inevitable consequence of innovation. In everyday speech, people more commonly reach for words like 'obsolete' or 'outdated', which makes 'antiquating' a distinctive choice for formal, academic, or technical writing. It belongs to a small family of words — including 'antique', 'antiquity', and 'antiquated' — all descended from the same Latin root, yet pointing in opposite directions: one celebrates age, while the other laments it.
Engaged in the act of making something old-fashioned or obsolete.
"Newer software is continually antiquating older file formats."
Usually used transitively with the thing being made obsolete as the object.
The process or practice of rendering something outdated or obsolete.
"The antiquating of manual typesetting transformed the printing trade within a generation."
Every new invention quietly works as an antiquating machine — the moment something better arrives, yesterday's marvel starts looking like a relic.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of antiquating
'Antiquate' derives from the Latin 'antiquus', meaning 'old' or 'former', via Old French 'antique'. The English verb took shape in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, when scholars borrowed heavily from Latin and French vocabulary. It shares this root with 'antique', 'antiquity', and 'antiquarian', though those relatives tend to celebrate the old, whereas 'antiquate' describes the act of consigning something to the past.
Related word forms
How antiquating is actually used
'Antiquate' and its participle 'antiquating' are relatively rare in everyday speech; writers more often use 'obsolete', 'outdated', or 'old-fashioned'. The word carries a neutral-to-negative connotation, since being antiquated implies loss of relevance. It appears mostly in formal, academic, or technical writing about technology, industry, and social change.
Easily confused with antiquating
'Antiquing' means shopping for or collecting antiques (or artificially aging an object), whereas 'antiquating' means making something become old-fashioned or obsolete.