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past

past

503 3.7
A person's earlier life and experiences sometimes kept secret
  • noun
  • /pæst/
translation icon : pasado
  • If they find out about my past, will they believe me?
  • a checkered past
  • haunted by their past
  • confront their past

Don't cheat on your future with your past ever, ever.

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Examples

  • Since there had been so many in the past, she had trouble being optimistic.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • So I'm an actress, but in the past I was a model.

  • Now their own story about their past was something like this.

  • Like who from my past could I bring back?

  • A number of people have claimed such in the past, and we have always heard them out.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I'm too scared to let him know because of my past trust issues.

  • Learn more about its dark and twisted past with this video.

  • You've heard about our past, now you are seeing our future.

  • He had a sketchy past, but he believed in me.

  • I'm too scared to let him know because of my past trust issues.

Synonyms

history
vspast
899 1.0

An account of past events about a person or place

is about private life experiences and possible secrets rather than public records
backstory
vspast
56 4.1

Past events about a person or situation that explain why they do things now

is about actual personal experiences, often secret or embarrassing

Antonyms

1.0

The time that comes after the present

849 1.0

Happening or existing now

Idioms

29 3.8

Something that people do not use or think about anymore

No longer at its best or in good condition

A past rule or tradition that still controls and prevents change

9.9

A very short time just after a set time on the clock

To think about things beyond your own immediate needs

Compounds

past tense
  • Specialized
15 1.0

A verb form that shows an action or state happened before now

An object, custom, or idea from long ago that seems out of date

past participle
  • Specialized
1 2.7

A verb form that shows a finished action and is used with have or in passive sentences

past perfect
  • Specialized
1 3.0

A verb tense that shows an action happened before another past action or time

simple past
  • Specialized
1 1.6

A verb form that shows an action finished in the past

1 6.9

A person very skilled at something after many years of practice

past perfect tense
  • Specialized
3.9

A verb form for an action that finished before another past action

past progressive
  • Specialized
3.7

A verb form that shows an action happening at a certain time in the past

4.0

Shows an action that was happening at a certain time in the past

A person who used to be the leader of a group or organization

past simple
  • Specialized
3.1

A verb form that shows an action or state happened and finished in the past

past-tense morpheme
  • Specialized
7.7

An ending or small change to a verb that shows it happened before now

How Troubling

dark chapter
2 6.3
past
503 3.7
checkered
  • US
3 7.2
background
627 3.4

Surface Forms

past singular
pasts plural

Etymology

A helpful way to remember the word past for a person's earlier life is to think of what has passed 'before' now; a person's past is the earlier time and events that shaped them and that they may keep private.