as in fogey
a person or thing that is similar to someone or something from the past or that is suited to an earlier time
—usually + to
She's a throwback to the actresses of the 1950s. The band's music is a throwback to the 1980s.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of throw back
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
In that light, Tomi’s wardrobe throwback can be seen not just as a humorous fashion gag but as a symbol of returning to an earlier version of oneself.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Additionally, with various throwback and legacy events set at the 100th anniversary celebrating the Egyptian Theatre on upper Main Street, an archival screening of Lynn Shelton’s Humpday, which debuted at SFF 2009, is on the calendar too.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
The country twang of her Nashville origins has been replaced with sonorous synths, and in the case of Showgirl, a throwback to the retro electric guitar sound of her bestselling 2014 album 1989.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for throw back
Verb
The song feels like a throwback to the 2010s, when dark, electronica pop dominated the airwaves.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
In that light, Tomi’s wardrobe throwback can be seen not just as a humorous fashion gag but as a symbol of returning to an earlier version of oneself.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Additionally, with various throwback and legacy events set at the 100th anniversary celebrating the Egyptian Theatre on upper Main Street, an archival screening of Lynn Shelton’s Humpday, which debuted at SFF 2009, is on the calendar too.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
The country twang of her Nashville origins has been replaced with sonorous synths, and in the case of Showgirl, a throwback to the retro electric guitar sound of her bestselling 2014 album 1989.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for throw back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for throw back
Verb
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Other big stories ➤ More than 350 residents from Marana and surrounding southern Arizona communities gathered to criticize Management and Training Corporation's refusal to communicate on whether a shuttered state prison will return as an ICE detention center.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
26 Oct. 2025
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Sanders has since been charged with intentionally abandoning a child younger than 15 without intent to return, a third-degree felony charge in Texas, according to court documents.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Old fogey-ish, ungrateful and stupid.—
Katie Hafner,
Scientific American,
10 Sep. 2025
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These are people who know AI and have grown up with this stuff that these old fogies haven't.—
Alison Snyder,
Axios,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Grandma's fall inspires middle schooler's invention Kevin said his grandmother, who lives with his family, fell at home about five years ago.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
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The Phillies clearly have work to do this offseason after falling short in the NLCS, but restoring the relationship with Harper and emphasizing how false the rumors are needs to be a top priority.—
Shaun McAvoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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New precise dating techniques of a century-old fossil site in New Mexico are opening a window into the years before the collision.—
DINO GRANDONI THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
26 Oct. 2025
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The Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana, is home to fossil beds from about 400 million years ago.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Contract options exercised for 4 The club exercised contract options on Stephen Afrifa, Zorhan Bassong, Jansen Miller and John Pulskamp, while declining options for Tim Leibold, Nemanja Radoja, Ryan Schewe, Shelton and Mason Toye.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
23 Oct. 2025
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However, her cousin the followed up, and the OP wrote back declining the invite.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Shildt was an old-timer, relying more on feel and instinct than the cellar-dwelling nerds who run the sport with impossible numbers that don’t mean a damn thing.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Oct. 2025
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California’s vulnerable House Republicans are a diverse gaggle that includes new blood and old-timers, a Trump antagonist and a Trump lickspittle.—
Michelle Cottle,
Mercury News,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Once Gacy is caught, the media runs with the details — all those bodies crammed in that crawlspace, some of them buried in trenches Gacy made his employees dig out — and paints his victims as runaways or degenerates who put themselves in danger.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
16 Oct. 2025
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In the quiet of the Sabbath morning when all the neighborhood was wrapped in slumber, some dastardly degenerate crept into the room, choked her to death, assaulted her criminally and left her bruised and bleeding body lying on the bed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In other words, the vainly hopeful Larry is about to endure twin humiliations, leaving him feeling bumped out of his life and into the past—a has-been, instantly old.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Oct. 2025
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DiCaprio makes a great, vital has-been, squinting at the horrors around him in disbelief, but mostly, driven by the need to protect his child.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Throw back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/throw%20back. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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