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former

/ˈfɔɹmɚ/noun, adjective2 syllables

Former means: belonging to some prior time.

Synonyms for former18

adjective, as in belonging to some prior time

erstwhile, old, onetime, one-time, quondam, sometime, past

adjective, as in (used especially of persons) of the immediate past

late, previous, past

adjective, as in belonging to the distant past

early, other, past

also used for former

whilom, wont-to-be, antecedent, anterior, earlier, ex, foregone

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Opposites of former

latter

What does former mean?5

adjective

1

belonging to some prior time“erstwhile friend”

2

(used especially of persons) of the immediate past“the former president”

3

belonging to the distant past“the early inhabitants of Europe”

4

referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)“the novel was made into a film in 1943 and again in 1967; I prefer the former version to the latter one”

noun

1

the first of two or the first mentioned of two“Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the former is remembered today”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with former?5

two syllables

warmer

three syllables

performertransformerreformerinformer
Show 40 near rhymes
waterorderlongerforwarddaughterofferauthorofferednorthernsmallercorneroffersorderedordersquarterborderlawyerstrongerauthorssupporterswatershorrorwalkerlawyerswalterreporterdisorderoscardaughtersbordersquartersshortertorturedisorderswarnersupportercornersalteryorkshirealtered

Former in a sentence

  • You saw your former employer at a conference, didn't you?Amastan
  • Either one is fine, but the former is more concise.francaisr0wlet
  • Both meanings are possible, but the former is the more likely.sundown
  • Every era has its difficulties, but former ones had souls, too.Cabo
  • In many cases, refugees were highly educated professionals in their former home nation.CM
  • After her sickness, she's only a shadow of her former self.unknown
  • Health is above wealth, for the former is more important than the latter.unknown
  • I met an old friend, and what was more strange, my former teacher.unknown

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of former

as a noun

plural
formers