former

form·er ¹  (fôrmr)

n.

1. One that forms; a maker or creator: a former of ideas.

2. A member of a school form: a fifth former.

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for·mer ²  (fôrmr)

adj.

1.

a. Occurring earlier in time.

b. Of, relating to, or taking place in the past.

2. Coming before in place or order; foregoing.

3. Being the first of two mentioned.

4. Having been in the past: a former ambassador.

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[Middle English, comparative of forme, first, from Old English forma; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Grammarians have often insisted that the phrases the former and the latter should be used only to refer to the first of two things and the second of two things, respectively, as in Ernest L. Thayer's "Casey at the Bat": "But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, and the former was a lulu and the latter was a fake." It is easy to find violations of this rule in the works of good writers; nonetheless, many readers feel uneasy when the words are used in enumerations of more than two things, just as they would feel uneasy over the similar incorrect use of a comparative in a sentence such as Her boys are 7, 9, and 13; only the younger was born in California.

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former

Adjective

1. belonging to or occurring in an earlier time: a grotesque parody of a former greatness

2. having been at a previous time: the former prime minister

Noun

the former the first or first mentioned of two

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	former - the first of two or the first mentioned of two; "Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the former is remembered today" first, number one - the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first" latter - the second of two or the second mentioned of two; "Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the latter is remembered today"
Adj.	1.	former - referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several); "the novel was made into a film in 1943 and again in 1967; I prefer the former version to the latter one" latter - referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several); "in the latter case"
	2.	former - belonging to some prior time; "erstwhile friend"; "our former glory"; "the once capital of the state"; "her quondam lover" one-time, onetime, quondam, sometime, erstwhile, old past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year"
	3.	former - (used especially of persons) of the immediate past; "the former president"; "our late President is still very active"; "the previous occupant of the White House" previous, late past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year"
	4.	former - belonging to the distant past; "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times" early, other past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year"

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former

adjective 1. previous, one-time, erstwhile, ex-, late, earlier, prior, sometime, foregoing, antecedent, anterior, quondam, whilom (archaic) ci-devant (French) << OPPOSITE current

adjective 2. past, earlier, long ago, bygone, old, ancient, departed, old-time, long gone, of yore << OPPOSITE present

adjective 3. aforementioned, above, first mentioned, aforesaid, preceding, foregoing

Translations

former [ˈfɔːməʳ] adj → anterior (= earlier); antiguo (= ex); ex;

the former ... the latter ... → aquél ... éste ...;

the former president → el antiguo or ex presidente;

the former Yugoslavia/Soviet Union → la antigua or ex Yugoslavia/Unión Soviética

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former [ˈfɔːməʳ] adj → ancien(ne);

(before n) → précédent(e);

the former ... the latter → le premier ... le second, celui-là ... celui-ci;

the former president → l'ex-président;

the former Yugoslavia/Soviet Union → l'ex Yougoslavie/Union Soviétique

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former [ˈfɔːməʳ] adj → früher;

the former ... the latter ... → Erstere(r, s) ... Letztere(r, s);

the former president → der ehemalige Präsident;

the former East Germany → die ehemalige DDR

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former [ˈfɔːməʳ] adj → vecchio/a (before n) → ex inv (before n);

the former president → l'ex presidente;

the former ... the latter → quello ... questo;

the former Yugoslavia/Soviet Union → l'ex Jugoslavia/Unione Sovietica

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former

adj former [ˈfoːmə]

of an earlier time In former times people did not travel so much. vroeëre سابِق бивш dřívější tidligere früher πρώην, προηγούμενος antiguo, anterior endine پیشین؛ قدیم entinen ancien קוֹדֵם भूतपूर्व prošli, prijašnji korábbi dulu fyrri precedente, passato 前の 이전의, 옛날의 ankstyvesnis agrākais; bijušais terdahulu vroeger tidligere, fordums dawny, poprzedni passado de altădată прежний bývalý prejšnji raniji förgången ก่อน geçmiş, eski 從前的 колишній; попередній گزشتہ trước; cũ;nguyên 从前的

adv formerly

in earlier times Formerly this large town was a small village. voorheen سابِقا، فيما مَضى преди dříve tidligere früher παλιότερα, άλλοτε antiguamente vanasti در گذشته entisaikaan autrefois לְשֶׁעָבַר पहले prije, nekada azelőtt dulunya forðum, fyrrum un tempo, in passato 昔は 이전에, 옛날에 anksčiau agrāk; senāk dulunya vroeger før i tida, tidligere poprzednio antigamente cândva прежде predtým prej ranije förr, förut ก่อนหน้านี้ eskiden 從前 раніше, колись ماضی میں trước đây; thuở xưa 从前

the former

the first of two things mentioned We visited America and Australia, staying longer in the former than in the latter. eersgenoemde المَذْكور اوَّلا първото от двете první førstnævnte; den første der/die/das Erstgenannte ο πρώτος (από τους δύο) el primero esimesena mainitu اولی edellinen le premier הַרִאשוֹן पूर्व prvospomenuti, prvi (od dvoga) előbbi yang pertama fyrrnefndur il primo 前者 전자(前者) pirmasis pirmais (no iepriekšminētajiem) yang pertama de eerste førstnevnte, den første pierwszy (z dwóch wymienionych) primeiro primul первый (из двух) (uvedený ako) prvý, skôr spomínaný prvi (od dveh) prethodni den förre (förra), det (de) förra กรณีแรก ilki, birincisi 前者 перший دو مذکورہ اشیا میں سے پہلی cái trước; người trước 前者