prewar

[pree-wawr]

adjective

1. before the war.

   prewar prices.

prewar

/ ˈpriːˌwɔː, ˌpriːˈwɔː /

adjective

1. of or occurring in the period before a war, esp before World War I or II

Word History and Origins

Origin of prewar¹

First recorded in 1905–10; pre- + war ¹

Example Sentences

She bought her first apartment in a prewar building on the Upper West Side soon after.

From Los Angeles Times

“The Asia Co. was one of the businesses in our community prewar, and because he did so much business with Japan, I think he was lumped in, like maybe he was one of the spies.”

From Los Angeles Times

After more than two years of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, street life in Kyiv — more than 200 miles from the nearest front line in the country’s east — is mostly back to its prewar vitality.

From Los Angeles Times

After the war, Schmitt refused to submit to denazification, and remained completely unrepentant of his prewar beliefs.

From Salon

Vovchansk, which became a battlefield again in May after Russian forces came over the border in the Kharkiv region, had about 2,000 residents by December, down from its prewar population of about 17,000.

From New York Times