old testament
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
The first major part of the Christian Bible, covering events before the coming of Christ.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ohldtehstuhmuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈoʊldˈtɛstəmənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
religionchiefly christianity
The first major part of the Christian Bible, covering events before the coming of Christ, corresponding roughly to the Jewish Tanakh. Usually subdivided into the categories of law, history, poetry (or wisdom books), and prophecy.
adjective
often humorous
Reminiscent of the content of the Old Testament, or of the behavior of God in it; especially dramatic, violent or vengeful.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The first major part of the Christian Bible, covering events before the coming of Christ, corresponding roughly to the Jewish Tanakh. Usually subdivided into the categories of law, history, poetry (or wisdom books), and prophecy.
Used this way, old testament is a specialist word with a mildly favourable edge. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.