previously
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of previously
Explanation
The adverb previously is good for talking about something that happened in the past. If you've read a novel previously, you might just skim it before your book group meets to discuss it. When you talk about things that happened before, whether recently or in the distant past, the word previously can be helpful. You could mention at a job interview that before your current job, you were previously employed as a flight attendant, or tell a date that though you're single now, you were previously married to a famous movie star. Previously comes from the adjective previous, with its Latin root praevius, "going before," from prae, "before," and via, "road."
Vocabulary lists containing previously
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 71-80
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Lesson 12
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: pre-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He added that unless the government saw "an absolute dire need", it would not be procuring spot cargoes on the LNG front, which tend to be far more expensive than previously contracted shipments.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Xuan’s attorney, Mitchell Krems, previously noted his client had never been convicted of a crime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
The DOT had previously denied the exemption request by Aurora and Waymo in December 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
"The men trained for months. We had to completely restructure our approach because previously we had been defending, and now we had to go on the offensive."
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
They crossed the road toward the Ivanov home, which had previously been Widow Medvedeva’s home and boarding house.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
