previous
7
3.9
- adjective
- /ˈpriːviəs/
- Archaic
:
prematuro
- Her recent shift in opinion regarding accountability education is particularly amazing, given her previous harsh criticisms of the American education system prior to NCLB.
Examples
-
They changed their strategy after our previous victory.
-
She has a previous engagement tonight.
-
Any new endeavors would be interrupted by my previous failures.
Fiction book (1999) -
During that time, Celeste had not been able to get pregnant, and Moussa had two children from a previous marriage.
Academic text (2002) -
Romney has attempted to aggressively alter the negative stigma associated with his previous remarks.
Blog text (5) -
It was a little too previous to announce the results before the ceremony began.
-
His previous efforts to resolve the issue had been premature and did not yield any results.
-
They felt that the project's timeline was previous, rushing them to complete tasks too soon.
Synonyms
241
1.0
Before the right time to do something
120
4.5
Happening before the usual time or before it is ready
3
7.9
Happening suddenly without careful thought and often causing problems
1
1.0
Happening before something else in time
1
7.2
Too quick to decide without enough thought
Done too quickly without careful thought
Made quickly without enough care because there is little time
Antonyms
Compounds
How Early
Surface Forms
Morphology
previous = pre + vious
The 'pre-' element still suggests 'before', but the specialized sense 'premature/too hasty' is a pragmatic extension that is not fully predictable from the morphemes alone.
Etymology
A helpful way to remember the other meaning of previous is to think of pre- 'before' again: it can mean 'before the right time'. So, a previous comment is one made too soon or earlier than it should have been.