- happening or existing before the event or object that you are talking about synonym prior
- No previous experience is necessary for this job.
- The car has had only one previous owner.
- She is his daughter from a previous marriage.
- I was unable to attend because of a previous engagement.
- The judge will take into consideration any previous convictions.
- We dealt with this in a previous chapter.
- We had met on two previous occasions.
- Most previous studies have focused on the elderly.
- Today's teens are more health conscious than previous generations.
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- immediately before the time you are talking about synonym preceding
- the previous year/month/week/night
- I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. I'd only seen him the previous day.
- He went jogging on Friday, despite the doctor’s warnings the previous day.
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Latin praevius ‘going before’ (from prae ‘before’ + via ‘way’) + -ous.
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previous