pre·vi·ous

(prē′vē-əs)

adj.

1. Existing or occurring before something else in time or order; prior: children by a previous marriage.

2. Informal Acting, occurring, or done too soon; premature or hasty: "I have been too previous, for which you must blame the natural impatience of a man in love" (Georgette Heyer).

[From Latin praevius, going before : prae-, pre- + via, way; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.]

pre′vi·ous·ly adv.

pre′vi·ous·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

previously

1. 'previously' and 'before'

If you are talking about a period measured back from some earlier time, you use before or previously.

He had died a month before.

She had rented the flat some fourteen months previously.

See before

2. 'ago'

You only use ago when you are talking about a period of time measured back from the present.

We met two years ago.

See ago

3. 'for'

You use for to say how long a period lasts in the past, present, or future, or how much time passes without something happening.

She slept for eight hours.

He will be away for three weeks.

I hadn't seen him for four years.

See for

4. 'since'

You use since to say when a period of time started.

She has been with the group since it began.

...the first civilian president since the coup 17 years ago.

You also use since to refer to the last time that something happened, or to how much time passes without something happening.

She hadn't eaten since breakfast.

It was a long time since she had been to church.

See since

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv.

previously - at an earlier time or formerly; "she had previously lived in Chicago"; "he was previously president of a bank"; "better than anything previously proposed"; "a previously unquestioned attitude"; "antecedently arranged"

antecedently

previously

adverb before, earlier, once, in the past, formerly, back then, until now, at one time, hitherto, beforehand, a while ago, heretofore, in days or years gone by Previously she had no time to work in her own garden.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

previously

adverb

1. At a time in the past:

already, before, earlier, erstwhile, formerly, once.

Archaic: aforetime, beforetime.

2. Up to this time:

before, earlier, heretofore, yet.

Translations

سابِقامِنْ قَبْل

předtím

tidligereforudgående

vorher früher

πρωτύτερα

anteriormente antes previamente

aiemmin

précédemment auparavant devant

prethodno

fyrr, áîur

antecedentemente anteriormente in precedenza precedentemente prima

以前に

전에

prej

innan

แต่ก่อน

daha önceden önceden

trước kia

先前以前

previously

[ˈpriːvɪəslɪ] ADV (= earlier, formerly) → antes, anteriormente; (= in advance) → con antelación, previamente
as previously mentioned → como se ha mencionado antes or anteriormente
previously, the country had been divided in two → antes or anteriormente, el país había estado dividido en dos partes
she read out a previously prepared speech → leyó un discurso que había preparado con antelación or previamente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

previously

[ˈpriːviəsli] adv → auparavant
10 days previously → 10 jours auparavantpre-war prewar [ˌpriːˈwɔː^r] adj [leader, job, years, period, car, model, world] → d'avant-guerre

previously

adv → vorher, früher; previously I had very little time to cook → früher hatte ich nur sehr wenig Zeit zum Kochen; he’d arrived three hours previously → er war drei Stunden zuvor angekommen; previously unreleased/unpublished → bislang or bisher unveröffentlicht; previously unknown → bislang or bisher unbekannt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

previously

[ˈpriːvɪəslɪ] adv (before) → prima; (in the past) → in precedenza; (already) → già

(ˈpriːviəs) adjective

earlier in time or order. on a previous occasion; the previous owner of the house.

ˈpreviously adverb

previous to

before. They told their families about their engagement previous to publishing it in the newspaper.

previously

→ مِنْ قَبْل předtím tidligere vorher πρωτύτερα antes aiemmin précédemment prethodno in precedenza 以前に 전에 voorafgaand tidligere poprzednio previamente заблаговременно innan แต่ก่อน daha önceden trước kia 先前