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antecedent

antecedent

3 7.4
Happening or existing before something else
  • adjective
  • /ˌæn.tɪˈsiː.dənt/
translation icon : anterior
  • Historical events provide insight into the antecedent circumstances that shaped current policies.
  • antecedent conditions
  • antecedent events
  • antecedent variables

Examples

  • The teacher initially instituted a package treatment that incorporated antecedent and consequence manipulations.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The first section of this article briefly examines politics and resources as antecedent conditions that influence government organization for the mission.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The balance restored by punishment is the balance of social order rather than some antecedent condition of social justice.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Students are trained to accept as natural and typical the antecedent conditions of groupthink.

    Academic text (1992)
  • In our analyses, the media system was treated as an antecedent variable.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Consistent with the findings reported in antecedent studies, customer responsiveness to electricity prices varies by time of day.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The 2016 legislation was an enhancement to antecedent legislation from 2010, which established baseline notice requirements.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Liddell Hart noted that strategy was chronologically antecedent to tactics and largely a matter of communication.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The study focused on the antecedent conditions that led to the successful outcome of the project.

  • Understanding the antecedent factors is crucial for predicting future trends in technology.

Synonyms

preceding
vsantecedent
3.2

Coming before something in time or order

means the same but uses a different word form

Antonyms

171 4.4

Happening after something else in time

1.0

Next in order or time, often about to be mentioned

Compounds

A protein in blood that helps it to clot and whose lack causes heavy bleeding

How Early

antecedent
3 7.4
prevenient
  • Formal
1 9.9
prior
752 2.9
preceding
3.2
following
1.0
subsequent
171 4.4
later
1.0

Surface Forms

antecedent positive

Morphology

antecedent = antecede (opaque) = ante + ced + ent

Formation from the verb 'antecede' by adding '-ent' is a normal derivational process producing an adjective meaning 'preceding'.

Etymology

Antecedent comes from the Latin parts ante- 'before' and cedere 'to go'. As an adjective, antecedent simply describes something that 'comes before' in time or order.