previously

American  

[pree-vee-uhs-lee] / ˈpri vi əs li /

adverb

1. before now; earlier.

   The evidence now shows a strong likelihood that sea levels will rise more rapidly than previously thought.

   The author was previously managing editor of a multimedia lifestyle company that produced a magazine, website, and newsletters.

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Etymology

Origin of previously

previous ( def. ) + -ly

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."

Example Sentences

He previously won the APSE’s Red Smith Award, the highest honor in American sports journalism.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026

The rule at issue, the agency had previously concluded, would “provide critical health protections to hundreds of thousands of people living near chemical plants.”

From Salon • May 10, 2026

Frozen in time yet alive with glamour and spontaneity, these moments are part of a new exhibition in Istanbul featuring previously unseen shots by Turkey's legendary Magnum photographer Ara Guler at the Cannes Film Festival.

From Barron's • May 10, 2026

Outside the capital, the Green Party's best result has been in Norwich, where it took control of the city council from Labour, and Hastings, where no single party was previously in control.

From BBC • May 9, 2026

Lizard houses, as previously noted, were as much like terrariums as they could be without compromising privacy; they were one of the few animals who kept spare sheets of glass everywhere.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

Related Words

• already
• formerly
• heretofore
• hitherto
• once
• then