venerable

Universal Words adjective 1 (formal) venerable people or things deserve respect because they are old, important, wise, etc: a venerable old man * a venerable institution / tradition 2 (the Venerable...) [onlybeforenoun] (in the Anglican Church), a title of respect used when talking about an ARCHDEACON: the Venerable Martin Roberts 3 (the Venerable...) [onlybeforenoun] (in the Roman Catholic Church), a title given to a dead person who is very holy but who has not yet been made a saint