English Explanatory Dictionary

former

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Previous.
  2. First of aforementioned two items. Used with the, often without a noun.
noun
  1. Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.
  2. An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.
  3. Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).

Pronunciation

/ˈfɔɹmɚ/ /ˈfɔːmə/ en-us-former.ogg

Word forms

former fmr fmr. formers

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English former, comparative of forme (“first”), from Old English forma (“first”), descended from Proto-Germanic *frumô. Parallel to prior (via Latin), as comparative form from same Proto-Indo-European root. Related to first and fore (thence before), from Proto-Germanic.

Synonyms

antecedent anterior earlier erstwhile ex foregone former hitherto old olden past preceding precedent previous prior quondam sometime used-to-be whilom wont-to-be

Antonyms

current subsequent next following after later posterior succeeding successor ulterior latter

Related words

ex- formerly

Derived words

formerly formerness former Soviet Union former times former USSR former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia shadow of one's former self beamformer glassformer metalformer opinion former pan former sixth-former sporeformer T-former
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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