Standard Lemma guide

nineties

adj · name · noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: N AY1 N T IY0 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

From or evoking the 91st through 100th years of a century (chiefly the 1990s).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • I found myself attracted to his mullet even though it struck me as needlessly nineties.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

Alternative letter-case form of nineties, in the context of a specific decade (almost always) the 1890s or 1990s.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

plural of ninety

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, plural, plural-only

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The decade of one's life from age 90 through age 99.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, plural-only

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The range between 90 and 99.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, plural-only

Qualifier: rates

Topics: temperature

Examples

  • My ideal bracket of temperature ranges from the sixties up to the nineties.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

The decade of the 1890s, 1990s, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1919, Harry Hamilton Johnston, The Gay-Dombeys: A Novel, Macmillan, page 172, He and his clever staff of minor blackguards exploited to the full every weakness and caries in the London Society of the 'eighties, 'nineties, and 'oughts.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

the time of life between 90 and 100

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mid-nineties

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: time of life

8

noun

Meaning 8

the decade from 1990 to 1999

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: 1990s

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: decade, decennary, decennium

9

noun

Meaning 9

the decade from 1890 to 1899

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: 1890s

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: decade, decennary, decennium

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

44 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: anys noranta — the decade of the 1990s
  • Chinese Mandarin: 九十年代 (jiǔshí niándài) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Chinese Mandarin: 90年代 (jiǔshí niándài) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Czech: devadesátá léta — the decade of the 1990s
  • Dutch: jaren negentig — the decade of the 1990s
  • Dutch: jaren 90 — the decade of the 1990s
  • Dutch: jaren 1990 — the decade of the 1990s
  • Finnish: yhdeksänkymmentäluku — the decade of the 1990s
  • French: années quatre-vingt-dix — the decade of the 1990s
  • French: années 90 — the decade of the 1990s
  • Georgian: 1990-იანები (1990-ianebi) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Georgian: 1990-იანი წლები (1990-iani c̣lebi) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Georgian: ათას ცხრაას ოთხმოცდაათიანი წლები (atas cxraas otxmocdaatiani c̣lebi) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Georgian: ოთხმოცდაათიანები (otxmocdaatianebi) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Georgian: 90-იანები (90-ianebi) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Georgian: 90-იანი წლები (90-iani c̣lebi) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Georgian: ოთხმოცდაათიანი წლები (otxmocdaatiani c̣lebi) — the decade of the 1990s
  • German: neunziger Jahre — the decade of the 1990s
  • German: Neunziger — the decade of the 1990s
  • German: Neunzigerjahre — the decade of the 1990s
  • German: 90er Jahre — the decade of the 1990s
  • Hungarian: kilencvenes évek — the decade of the 1990s
  • Indonesian: tahun sembilan puluhan — the decade of the 1990s
  • Japanese: 九十年代 (kyūjū-nendai) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Japanese: 90年代 (kyūjū-nendai) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Korean: 구십년대 (gusimnyeondae) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Korean: 90년대 (gusimnyeondae) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Lithuanian: devyniasdešimti̇̀niai — the decade of the 1990s
  • Lithuanian: devyniasdešimti̇́eji — the decade of the 1990s
  • Lithuanian: dešim̃tas dešim̃tmetis — the decade of the 1990s
  • Polish: lata dziewięćdziesiąte — the decade of the 1990s
  • Polish: lata 90. — the decade of the 1990s
  • Portuguese: anos noventa — the decade of the 1990s
  • Portuguese: década de noventa — the decade of the 1990s
  • Russian: девяно́стые (devjanóstyje) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Russian: десятиле́тие девяно́стых годо́в (desjatilétije devjanóstyx godóv) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Spanish: años noventa — the decade of the 1990s
  • Spanish: los noventa — the decade of the 1990s
  • Swedish: nittiotal — the decade of the 1990s
  • Swedish: 90-tal — the decade of the 1990s
  • Tagalog: dekada nobenta — the decade of the 1990s
  • Turkish: doksanlar — the decade of the 1990s
  • Ukrainian: дев'яності (devʺjanosti) — the decade of the 1990s
  • Welsh: nawdegau — the decade of the 1990s