Synonyms for antecedent
ˌæn təˈsid ntan·tecedent

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. antecedentnoun

   An ancestor.

   Synonyms:
   forerunner, ascendent, predecessor, forebear, forefather, ascendant, progenitor

2. antecedentnoun

   Synonyms:
   precursor, precedent

3. antecedentnoun

   Antonyms:
   anaphor, consequent

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. antecedent

   The efficient cause, that which makes anything to be or be done, is the common meaning of the word, as in the saying "There is no effect without a cause." Every man instinctively recognizes himself acting through will as the cause of his own actions. The Creator is the Great First Cause of all things. A condition is something that necessarily precedes a result, but does not produce it. An antecedent simply precedes a result, with or without any agency in producing it; as, Monday is the invariable antecedent of Tuesday, but not the cause of it. The direct antonym of cause is effect, while that of antecedent is consequent. An occasion is some event which brings a cause into action at a particular moment; gravitation and heat are the causes of an avalanche; the steep incline of the mountain-side is a necessary condition, and the shout of the traveler may be the occasion of its fall. Causality is the doctrine or principle of causes, causation the action or working of causes. Compare DESIGN; REASON.

   Synonyms:
   actor, agent, author, causality, causation, cause, condition, creator, designer, former, fountain, motive, occasion, origin, originator, power, precedent, reason, reason, source, spring

   Antonyms:
   consequence, creation, development, effect, end, end, event, fruit, issue, outcome, outgrowth, product, result

   Preposition:
   The cause of the disaster; cause for interference.

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, antecedent, rootnoun

   someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)

   Synonyms:
   theme, rootage, ancestor, radical, ascendant, etymon, base, beginning, solution, origin, stem, root, source, tooth root, ascendent, forerunner, root word

   Antonyms:
   ulterior, posterior, incidental, concomitant, later(a), attendant, ensuant, sequent, accompanying, consequent, resultant, subsequent

2. antecedentnoun

   a preceding occurrence or cause or event

   Synonyms:
   root, ascendant, ascendent, forerunner, ancestor

   Antonyms:
   sequent, accompanying, consequent, incidental, ensuant, attendant, subsequent, posterior, concomitant, resultant, later(a), ulterior

3. antecedent, forerunnernoun

   anything that precedes something similar in time

   "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience"

   Synonyms:
   precursor, root, ancestor, herald, forerunner, ascendant, predecessor, ascendent, harbinger

   Antonyms:
   consequent, accompanying, incidental, ensuant, subsequent, attendant, posterior, concomitant, resultant, ulterior, sequent, later(a)

4. antecedentadjective

   the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun

   Synonyms:
   root, ascendant, ascendent, forerunner, ancestor

   Antonyms:
   accompanying, attendant, subsequent, ulterior, posterior, incidental, later(a), consequent, concomitant, ensuant, resultant, sequent

5. antecedentadjective

   preceding in time or order

   Antonyms:
   incidental, subsequent, concomitant, posterior, resultant, sequent, consequent, ulterior, attendant, accompanying, later(a), ensuant

Matched Categories

1. • Cause

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. antecedentadjective

   Synonyms:
   preceding, precedent, previous, prior, anterior, foregoing, precursory, forerunning, going before

2. antecedentnoun

   Synonyms:
   precursor, forerunner

3. antecedentnoun

   Synonyms:
   (Math.) first term (of a ratio)

4. antecedentnoun

   Synonyms:
   (Gram.) preceding noun (to which a relative refers)

5. antecedentnoun

   Synonyms:
   (Logic.) first proposition (in an enthymeme)

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. antecedentadjective

   Synonyms:
   anterior, preceding, prior, previous

   Antonyms:
   posterior

How to pronounce antecedent?

How to say antecedent in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use antecedent in a sentence?

1. Giuseppe Mazzini:

   The republic, as I at least understand it, means association, of which liberty is only an element, a necessary antecedent. It means association, a new philosophy of life, a divine Ideal that shall move the world, the only means of regeneration vouchsafed to the human race.

2. John Goodwin:

   Freedom of conscience is a natural right, both antecedent and superior to all human laws and institutions whatever; a right which laws never gave and a right which laws can never take away.

3. Ed Whelan:

   Complaints that Court ruled on Texas law in ‘shadow docket’ can't be taken seriously, as it's abortion providers who pressed for immediate action (after waiting 2-1/2 months to file motion for preliminary injunction), abortion providers failed to meet their burden on the ‘complex and novel antecedent procedural questions’ that their *pre-enforcement* challenge presents.