formerly
Americanadverb
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in time past; in an earlier period or age; previously.
a custom formerly observed.
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Obsolete. in time just past; just now.
adverb
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at or in a former time; in the past
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obsolete in the immediate past; just now
Etymology
Origin of formerly
Compare meaning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While all this was going on, Lowdon, formerly a senior figure at the Virgin/Manor/Marussia team that raced from 2009-16, was charged with setting up a new company from scratch.
From BBC
Emil Michael, the undersecretary of war for research and engineering, shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier Thursday noting that mass surveillance is already illegal under the Fourth Amendment.
They went over the whole surrounding country trying to get the names of people who had formerly lived in the house.
From Literature
Like every other detail here, that implicit complaint is dusty and ossified, and Mr. Williamson’s formerly wised-up dialogue has been supplanted by a grinding earnestness, with everyone constantly asking about one another’s feelings.
Investors are likely to also focus on the performance of the company’s Agentforce AI offering and Data 360, formerly known as Data Cloud.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
