FORMER

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does former mean? 

• FORMER (noun)
  The noun FORMER has 1 sense:

1. the first of two or the first mentioned of two

  Familiarity information: FORMER used as a noun is very rare.

• FORMER (adjective)
  The adjective FORMER has 4 senses:

1. referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)

2. belonging to some prior time

3. (used especially of persons) of the immediate past

4. belonging to the distant past

  Familiarity information: FORMER used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FORMER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The first of two or the first mentioned of two

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Context example:

Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the former is remembered today

Hypernyms ("former" is a kind of...):

first; number one (the first or highest in an ordering or series)

Antonym:

latter (the second of two or the second mentioned of two)

• FORMER (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)

Context example:

the novel was made into a film in 1943 and again in 1967; I prefer the former version to the latter one

Antonym:

latter (referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Belonging to some prior time

Synonyms:

erstwhile; former; old; one-time; onetime; quondam; sometime

Context example:

her quondam lover

Similar:

past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(used especially of persons) of the immediate past

Synonyms:

former; late; previous

Context example:

the previous occupant of the White House

Similar:

past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Belonging to the distant past

Synonyms:

early; former; other

Context example:

in other times

Similar:

past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)

 Context examples 

One former Inuit camp on an islet off Ellesmere Island contained the rivets of a Norse boat – quite possibly a hunting trip that never returned.

(Over-hunting walruses contributed to the collapse of Norse Greenland, University of Cambridge)

Of all the sources of evil surrounding the former, since her coming to Highbury, she was persuaded that she must herself have been the worst.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

The time had been, when I should have been uneasy in her going; but reflection on what had passed that former night in the Doctor's study, had made a change in my mistrust.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

"While both promotion and prevention focused individuals will be motivated to maintain good health, the former are more likely to employ approach strategies such as nutritional involvement.

(People with Positive Attitude More Likely to Eat Healthily, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Risks were lower among former low-intensity smokers compared to those who were still smokers, and risk fell with earlier age at quitting.

(No safe level of smoking: Even low-intensity smokers are at increased risk of earlier death, National Institutes of Health)

National Football League players seemed particularly prone to CTE, with 110 of the 111 former NFL players examined in the study being diagnosed with the disease.

(Study: Brain Disease Found in Nearly All Deceased US Football Players, VOA News)

The former retires early and sleeps at the top of the house.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Adding extra zinc accelerated the switch—but not when we reduced the accumulation of Shank 2 or 3, explains Dr. Huong Ha - the study's lead author, a former Stanford graduate student.

(Zinc Deficiency during Pregnancy Linked to Autism in Babies, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The United States, the former Soviet Union and more recently China have sent spacecraft to the near side of the moon, but the latest Chinese landing is the first on the far side.

(Chinese Rover Making Tracks on Dark Side of the Moon, VOA)

Here it is; I would not burn it, because being even then very little satisfied with Mr Elliot, I was determined to preserve every document of former intimacy.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)