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millennial

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Millennial

English

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WOTD – 20 October 2023, Upcoming 1 January 3001

Etymology

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The adjective is a learned borrowing from Late Latin mīllennium (“millennium”) + English -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives; and forming nouns).[1] The English word may be analysed as millennium +‎ -al or milli- (prefix meaning ‘thousand’) +‎ -ennial (suffix meaning ‘years’).

Adjective sense 5 (“of or relating to, or characteristic of, people born in the last two decades of the 20th century”) was coined by the American authors William Strauss (1947–2007) and Neil Howe (born 1951) in their book Generations (1991): see the quotations.[2][3]

The noun is derived from the adjective.[1]

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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millennial (not comparable)

  1. Thousand-year-old; also (by extension, loosely) thousands of years old.
    Synonym: millenarian
    • 1830, Alfred Tennyson, “The Kraken”, in The Complete Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson, Chicago, Ill.: The Dominion Company, published 1897, →OCLC, page 8:
      The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee / About his shadowy sides: above him swell / Huge sponges of millennial growth and height; […]
      Spelled millenial when the poem was first published.
  2. Occurring every thousand years.
  3. Occurring at, or relating to, the beginning or end of a millennium.
    • 1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 184:
      [I]t is highly likely that some preachers may have called on millennial frettings for their purposes. The theologian Abbo of Fleury recalled a premillennial sermon in his youth which did precisely this.
    • 2001 October 12, Stephen Holden, “Surreal adventures somewhere near the land of Nod”, in The New York Times (E section)‎[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 April 2023, page 15:
      But I would urge you to resist the temptation to swoon into "Waking Life" as though it were a dizzy millennial throwback to a 60's trip movie.
    • 2013 September 10, Michiko Kakutani, “A calamity tailor-made for Internet conspiracy theories”, in The New York Times (C section)‎[4], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 6 September 2023, page 1:
      As for Mr. [Thomas] Pynchon's conjuring of millennial New York, it's a total mishmash.
  4. Referring to the thousandth anniversary of an event or happening.
    a millennial fair
  6. (by extension, originally US, demography) Often capitalized: of or relating to, or characteristic of, people born in the last two decades of the 20th century from around the early 1980s to the mid 1990s (with 1996 births cited as the last Millennial year), and who reached adulthood early in the third millennium C.E.
    Alternative form: Millennial
    the millennial generation
    He was suffering from a typical millennial problem: Which is the correct emoji to use?
    • 1991, William Strauss, Neil Howe, “The Past as Prologue”, in Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, →ISBN, part III (The Future), page 352:
      Boomers played cassettes in their cars and popularized FM radio. Thirteeners love their compact disks. Today's electronics industry is abuzz with talk of the new digital technology that awaits Millennial teenagers.
    • 2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club‎[5], archived from the original on 5 April 2023:
      When the staccato, Neptunes-ian single "Boyfriend" was released in March, musical prognosticators were quick to peg the album it portended, Believe, as Justin Bieber's Justified, a grown-and-sexy, R&B-centric departure that evolved millennial teenybopper Justin Timberlake into one of the unifying pop-music figures of the aughts.
    • 2015 August 24, Samantha Sharf, “What is a ‘Millennial’ Anyway? Meet the Man who Coined the Phrase”, in Forbes‎[6], New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 September 2023:
      Many people, or at least a handful of very loud people, hate to being dubbed Millennial. They see it as derogatory.
    • 2018 March 22, Wilder Davies, “Mercury Is Entering Retrograde Again. This Is Why So Many People Care”, in Time‎[7], archived from the original on 9 December 2023:
      But, while many have jumped to label the astrology boom as another millennial trend, that may not actually be the case.
    • 2024, “We Make Hits”, in James Smith (lyrics), Where's My Utopia?, performed by Yard Act:
      We make hits / Two broke millennial men / And we'd do it again
  7. (Christianity) Synonym of millenarian (“pertaining to the belief in an impending period of one thousand years of peace and righteousness associated with the Second Coming of Christ and his reign on earth”).
    Synonym: (rare) millenniary
    the millennial judgment
    • 1660, H[enry] More, chapter XVII, in An Explanation of the Grand Mystery of Godliness; […], London: […] J[ames] Flesher, for W[illiam] Morden […], →OCLC, book I, page 204:
      VVhereas the very Povver of the Civil Magisſtrate and his ſecurity is hazarded by vvild and hot-ſpirited men, that vvould raiſe a Fifth Monarchie by Bloud and Rapine, and tumble dovvn all Government, […] and that they are the Pioners to level all plain, and break all Government in pieces, that Chriſt, the Fifth Monarch, may perſonally come and begin his Millennial Empire upon Earth; […]
    • 1669, Henry More, “The Preface to the Reader, […]”, in An Exposition of the Seven Epistles to the Seven Churches; […], London: […] James Flesher, →OCLC:
      This is that illuſtrious Reign of Chriſt in his Millennial Empire of Love, vvhen the Chriſtian life ſhall take place, and Opinions and Perſecutions ſhall be done avvay.
    • 1745, [Edward Young], “Night the Ninth and Last. The Consolation. Containing, among Other Things, I. A Moral Survey of the Nocturnal Heavens. II. A Night-Address to the Deity. […]”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, London: […] [Samuel Richardson] for A[ndrew] Millar […], and R[obert] Dodsley […], published 1750, →OCLC, page 320:
      But their reciprocal, unſelfiſh Aid, / Affords an Emblem of Millennial Love.
    • 1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “The Dairy”, in Adam Bede […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book first, page 156:
      Every tenant was quite sure things would be different when the reins got into his hands—there was to be a millennial abundance of new gates, allowances of lime, and returns of ten per cent.
      A figurative use.

Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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millennial (plural millennials)

  2. (originally US, demography) Often capitalized: a person from the generation born in the last two decades of the 20th century, from around the early 1980s to the mid-1990s and who reached adulthood early in the third millennium C.E., characterized by their familiarity with computer technology and poorer financial prospects than their parents.
    Synonyms: echo boomer, Generation Yer
    • 1991, William Strauss, Neil Howe, “The Millennial Cycle”, in Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, →ISBN, part III (The Future), page 342:
      Someday, Boomers hope, Millennials will build according to great ideals their parents can only envision, act on vital issues their parents can only ponder.
    • 2000 September, Neil Howe, William Strauss, “The Next Great Generation”, in Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, →ISBN, page 4:
      Meet the Millennials, born in or after 1982—the "Babies on Board" of the early [Ronald] Reagan years, the "Have You Hugged Your Child Today?" sixth graders of the early [Bill] Clinton years, the teens of Columbine, and, this year, the much-touted high school Class of 2000, now invading the nation's campuses.
    • 2015 August 24, Samantha Sharf, quoting Neil Howe, “What is a ‘Millennial’ Anyway? Meet the Man who Coined the Phrase”, in Forbes‎[8], New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 September 2023:
      When we saw Millennials as kids being raised so differently, we could already make an easy prediction. We had seen this dark to bright contrast in child upbringing before many times in American history, so we already foresaw that by the time you got to 2000 you would see huge changes in people in their late teens and early 20s.
    • 2020 June 25, Eve Peyser, “In vintage TV ads, a curious fountain of hope (and cheese)”, in The New York Times‎[9], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 August 2023:
      In a bumper for a newsmagazine program, a reporter muses: “[It’s] the year of the yuppie, but what is a yuppie?” That’s right, fellow millennials: Not long ago, young people had so much economic opportunity that their generation was defined by its upward mobility.
    • 2025 August 29, “Forever Renters: How Millennials are Impacting Multifamily Rentals”, in PointCentral‎[10], archived from the original on 21 September 2025:
      According to the New York Post, more millennials and Gen Zs are choosing to rent indefinitely, reshaping how property managers must think about long-term tenant satisfaction and retention.
    • 2025 September 6, Angela Giuffrida, quoting Andrea Vreede, “Pope prepares to canonise London-born teenager nicknamed ‘God’s influencer’”, in The Guardian‎[11], →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 October 2026:
      “That’s exactly the point,” said Andrea Vreede, Vatican correspondent for NOS, the Dutch public radio and TV network. “The church wants to have a young saint who is a millennial, somebody who belongs to the modern age.”
  4. (obsolete, rare) A thousandth anniversary; also, a celebration of such an anniversary.
    Hypernym: anniversary
    Coordinate terms: centennial (100), bicentennial (200), semiquincentennial (250), sestercentennial (250), tricentennial (300), quincentennial (500)

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Timeline of generations
Generation BetaGeneration AlphazoomerGeneration ZmillennialGeneration YMTV generationGeneration Xbaby boomerSilent GenerationG.I. Generationgreatest generationImage

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “millennial, adj. and n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “millennial, adj. and n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ Samantha Sharf (24 August 2015), “What is a ‘Millennial’ Anyway? Meet the Man who Coined the Phrase”, in Forbes‎[1], New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 September 2023: “When Neil Howe and William Strauss coined the term Millennial in 1991 they weren't sure it would stick. The historians introduced the phrase in their book ‘Generations’ which charts American history through a series of cohort biographies.”
  3. ^ Michael Dimock (17 January 2019), “Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins”, in Pew Research Center‎[2], archived from the original on 1 June 2020.

Further reading

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Spanish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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    Unadapted borrowing from English millennial.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /miˈlenjal/ [miˈle.njal]
    • Rhymes: -enjal
    • Syllabification: mi‧llen‧nial

    Noun

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    millennial m or f by sense (plural millennials)

    1. millennial

    Usage notes

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    • According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

    Further reading

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