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Synonyms

advanced

American  
[ad-vanst, -vahnst] / ædˈvænst, -ˈvɑnst /

adjective

  1. placed ahead or forward.

    with one foot advanced.

  2. ahead or far or further along in progress, complexity, knowledge, skill, etc..

    an advanced class in Spanish;

    to take a course in advanced mathematics;

    Our plans are too advanced to make the change now.

  3. pertaining to or embodying ideas, practices, attitudes, etc., taken as being more enlightened or liberal than the standardized, established, or traditional.

    advanced theories of child care;

    the more advanced members of the artistic community.

  4. far along in time.

    the advanced age of most senators.


advanced British  
/ ədˈvɑːnst /

adjective

  1. being ahead in development, knowledge, progress, etc

    advanced studies

  2. having reached a comparatively late stage

    a man of advanced age

  3. ahead of the times

    advanced views on religion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of advanced

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; advance + -ed 2

Explanation

Use the adjective advanced to describe something that's ahead, especially in terms of growth or development. Your plans to build the world's best tree house are at an advanced stage if you're nearly ready to add a roof and invite your friends to visit. Things are advanced when they happen early or are ahead of the curve or above average. Your advanced reading ability in elementary school might have had your teachers scrambling to keep you interested, and if a scientist's cancer vaccine is at an advanced stage, it's nearly ready to be tested on people. Advanced comes from the verb advance, which comes from the Old French avancier, "move forward," from a Late Latin root word, abante, "from before."

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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.

During the qualifying round, South Africa won its group by finishing ahead of Nigeria and advanced despite starting the campaign with a loss due to an ineligible player used in a match against Lesotho.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

That was set to add to an 11% gain the previous day amid excitement that Google and Nvidia are reportedly using Intel as a backup manufacturer for advanced processors.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

Pulte has not publicly advanced this principle recently.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

The central question, the company said, is how to make advanced AI abundant, safe and useful.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

As the Russians advanced, his Hitler Youth battalion was sent to dig trenches at the front line, now just thirty miles east of Berlin.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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