Synonyms for earlier
ear·li·er

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. earlier

   Antecedent may denote simple priority in time, implying no direct connection between that which goes before and that which follows; as, the striking of one clock may be always antecedent to the striking of another with no causal connection between them. Antecedent and previous may refer to that which goes or happens at any distance in advance, preceding is limited to that which is immediately or next before; an antecedent event may have happened at any time before; the preceding transaction is the one completed just before the one with which it is compared; a previous statement or chapter may be in any part of the book that has gone before; the preceding statement or chapter comes next before without an interval. Previous often signifies first by right; as, a previous engagement. Foregoing is used only of that which is spoken or written; as, the foregoing statements. Anterior, while it can be used of time, is coming to be employed chiefly with reference to place; as the anterior lobes of the brain. Prior bears exclusive reference to time, and commonly where that which is first in time is first also in right; as, a prior demand. Former is used of time, or of position in written or printed matter, not of space in general. We can say former times, a former chapter, etc., but not the former part of a garden; we should say the front part of the garden, the forward car of a train. Former has a close relation, or sharp contrast, with something following; the former always implies the latter, even when not fully expressed, as in Acts i, 1, and Eccles. vii, 10.

   Synonyms:
   antecedent, anterior, foregoing, former, forward, front, introductory, precedent, preceding, preliminary, previous, prior

   Antonyms:
   after, concluding, consequent, following, hind, hinder, hindmost, later, latter, posterior, subsequent, succeeding

   Preposition:
   Such was the state of things previous to the revolution. [Previous to is often used adverbially, in constructions where previously to would be more strictly correct; as, these arrangements were made previous to my departure.]

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. earlier, earliestadverb

   (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early

   "a fashion popular in earlier times"; "his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher"; "Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera"

   Synonyms:
   earliest

   Antonyms:
   late, middle

2. earlier, beforeadverb

   earlier in time; previously

   "I had known her before"; "as I said before"; "he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"; "her parents had died four years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier"

   Synonyms:
   in the beginning, originally, ahead, to begin with, sooner, in front, in the first place, before

   Antonyms:
   middle, late

3. sooner, earlieradverb

   comparatives of `soon' or `early'

   "Come a little sooner, if you can"; "came earlier than I expected"

   Synonyms:
   sooner, rather, in the beginning, originally, before, to begin with, preferably, in the first place

   Antonyms:
   middle, late

4. in the first place, earlier, in the beginning, to begin with, originallyadverb

   before now

   "why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

   Synonyms:
   in the beginning, primitively, in the first place, originally, before, sooner, to begin with, primarily

   Antonyms:
   late, middle

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

1. earlieradjective

   Synonyms:
   antecedent

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "earlier":

   previous, previously, sooner, early, before, prior, former, above, formerly, preceding, anterior, past, soon, ago, already, earller, lately, beforehand

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How to use earlier in a sentence?

1. Shane Dormady:

   I think you have a subset of patients who are being screened earlier with colonoscopies; you have advancing technology where we can potentially detect tumor cell DNA in the stool sample, which is leading to earlier diagnosis. And sometimes that effect will skew statistics and make it look like the incidence is really on the rise, but deeper analysis shows you that part of that is due to earlier detection and more screening, so that could be one facet of the equation.

2. Svetlana Kuznetsova on Wednesday:

   I was 5-1 up in that first set, so when I was 5-1 up in the third set I was thinking to myself that I really couldn't repeat what happened earlier, i served better as the match went on, tried to take the ball a little earlier.

3. Erich Fromm:

   If faith cannot be reconciled with rational thinking, it has to be eliminated as an anachronistic remnant of earlier stages of culture and replaced by science dealing with facts and theories which are intelligible and can be validated.

4. von Weizsacker:

   Nature is earlier than man, but man is earlier than natural science.

5. Robertson Davies, The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks, 1947:

   I object to being told that I am saving daylight when my reason tells me that I am doing nothing of the kind... At the back of the Daylight Saving scheme, I detect the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier, to make them healthy, wealthy, and wise in spite of themselves.