formerly

American  

[fawr-mer-lee] / ˈfɔr mər li /

adverb

1. in time past; in an earlier period or age; previously.

   a custom formerly observed.

2. Obsolete.  in time just past; just now.

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formerly British  

/ ˈfɔːməlɪ /

adverb

1. at or in a former time; in the past

2. obsolete  in the immediate past; just now

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Etymology

Origin of formerly

First recorded in 1580–90; former ¹ + -ly

Compare meaning

How does formerly compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• formerly vs. formally

Example Sentences

Addressing the legal filing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Minaj insisted that she was unaware any money was still owed to Weidenmuller, placing the blame for the issue on her business manager.

From MarketWatch

The displaced Poles were in turn resettled in Silesia, a region on the border of Czechoslovakia that had formerly belonged to Germany.

From The Wall Street Journal

LaVoix - formerly a finalist of RuPaul's Drag Race UK - was forced to leave Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday after sustaining an injury.

From BBC

Evoke, formerly known as 888 Holdings, expects the new tax regime to increase annual duty costs by between 125 million pounds and 135 million pounds once fully implemented from April 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal

Nvidia took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to both praise Google, but said that its own chips are a step ahead.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• already
• earlier
• heretofore
• once