anterior
Americanadjective
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situated before or at the front of; fore (opposed to posterior).
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going before in time or sequence; preceding; earlier.
events anterior to the outbreak of war.
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Linguistics. (in distinctive feature analysis) articulated in the region extending from the alveolar ridge to the lips; alveolar, dental, or labial.
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(in animals and embryos) pertaining to or toward the head or forward end of the body.
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(in humans) pertaining to or toward the front plane of the body, equivalent to the ventral surface of quadrupeds.
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Botany. on the front side and away from the main axis, as the lower lip of a flower.
adjective
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situated at or towards the front
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earlier in time
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zoology of or near the head end
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botany (of part of a flower or leaf) situated farthest away from the main stem
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of anterior
1535–45; < Latin, comparative of ante before, formed on model of posterior
Explanation
The anterior of anything is the front — in humans, it's the area toward the head of the body, opposite of the posterior. Anterior can also refer to something that came before, as in "anterior to the discovery of vaccines." The word anterior is one of those words that are spelled the same in English today as they were in their Latin origins. It still has the same meaning — "former" or "before." You can remember that by remembering that the prefix ante- means "before." Emily Dickinson once wrote, "Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creation, and the exponent of breath."
Vocabulary lists containing anterior
Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: ante, anti
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Before You Know It: Ante
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Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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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.
The researchers placed the cells in the anterior chamber of the eye, allowing them to observe how the cells developed and functioned over time.
From Science Daily • May 6, 2026
Simons was carried off on a stretcher in the second half of Tottenham's 1-0 win at Wolves on Saturday with reports, external he may have suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
Kulusevski had surgery on a patella injury sustained last season while Maddison tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle in June.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
He was limited to just three games in 2024 after he sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament at the end of the 2023 season.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026
The network included parts of the brain like the anterior cingulate cortex, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and, crucially, the prefrontal cortex.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions 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.
