former
∞
1.0
- adjective
- /ˈfɔrmər/
:
anterior
- We'll be back with Ellen Stoffen, former chief scientist at NASA.
- a former president
- a former officer
- a former slave
But being a science teacher, former science teacher, right?
- But being a science teacher, former science teacher, right?
- Six of them are former CIA officers.
- Now the monster in question is former President Mango Unchained.
- He's Nathan Wade's former law partner and friend.
- So Mark Carney, as I've said, was former head of the Bank of England.
- And both of them had been former governors of New Mexico.
- And there was also talk about a former Prime Minister from Israel.
- I've learn important things from my former student, Josefa Raz.
- Tonight, our guest and visiting IOP fellow is former Congressman Eric Cantor.
Examples
-
So Mark Carney, as I've said, was former head of the Bank of England.
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She spoke highly of her former colleagues at the company.
-
And there was also talk about a former Prime Minister from Israel.
-
This can even be family members, former bosses, old friends.
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Another such group is Breaking the Silence, an organization of former Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
Academic text (2015) -
Six of them are former CIA officers.
-
Its founding chairman was a former Conservative MP.
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The former light heavyweight champion of the world.
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That's former president Gerald Ford there.
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In one fell swoop with emancipation, millions of former slaves were now citizens.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A thing that belonged to or was used before the one you have now
∞
1.0
Happening before now or before another event
55
4.5
A person or thing that used to be something but is not now
12
5.6
Formerly having a particular job or status
9
8.4
From an earlier time and not happening now
3
5.5
Having had a job or role in the past, not now
Once in a role or position but not now
From earlier times and no longer used to talk about people or things
A person, thing, or role from an earlier time
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
1
7.1
A person or thing that is much weaker and less impressive than before
Compounds
- NSFW
A Rwandan rebel group that fought to overthrow the Tutsi government and restore Hutu rule
How Distant
Surface Forms
Morphology
former = (opaque) = fore + er
Historically this is built from 'fore' + '-er', but the modern sense 'previous/earlier' is lexicalized and not easily recoverable for learners. [Postprocessing: moved 'fore' from base_words to prefix]
Etymology
Former comes from an old word meaning 'first', so it keeps the idea of being 'before' in time. That's why former describes someone or something that existed earlier or in the past.