ci-devant
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ci-devant
Literally, “heretofore”
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.
As a ci-devant intellectual I was one of the elect.
From Time Magazine Archive
“That’s true,” assents the ci-devant soldier, with an air of troubled impatience.
From The Lost Mountain A Tale of Sonora by Mayne Reid
It was deemed discourteous, and widened the breach between the ci-devant soldier and the retired stockbroker.
From The Finger of Fate A Romance by Mayne Reid
One word only, a farewell one, on the subject of my ci-devant digressions; no, three words; I must say in my own justification. 1st.
From The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton Volume I by Mrs. Russell Barrington
What the ci-devant Horace Townsend experienced may be easily enough indicated, and in one word—madness.
From The Coward A Novel of Society and the Field in 1863 by Henry Morford
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
