Adjacent Words

preceding definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: existing or coming before [ant: succeeding]
2: of a person who has held and relinquished a position or office; "a retiring member of the board" [syn: past, preceding, retiring]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 15th century that immediately precedes in time or place <the preceding day> <preceding paragraphs> Synonyms: preceding, antecedent, foregoing, previous, prior, former, anterior mean being before. preceding usually implies being immediately before in time or in place <the preceding sentence>. antecedent applies to order in time and may suggest a causal relation <conditions antecedent to the revolution>. foregoing applies chiefly to statements <the foregoing remarks>. previous and prior imply existing or occurring earlier, but prior often adds an implication of greater importance <a child from a previous marriage> <a prior obligation>. former implies always a definite comparison or contrast with something that is latter <the former name of the company>. anterior applies to position before or ahead of usually in space, sometimes in time or order <the anterior lobe of the brain>.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Precede Pre*cede", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preceded; p. pr. & vb. n. Preceding.] [L. praecedere, praecessum; prae before + cedere to go, to be in motion: cf. F. pr['e]ceder. See Pre-, and Cede.] 1. To go before in order of time; to occur first with relation to anything. ``Harm precedes not sin.'' --Milton. 2. To go before in place, rank, or importance. 3. To cause to be preceded; to preface; to introduce; -- used with by or with before the instrumental object. [R.] It is usual to precede hostilities by a public declaration. --Kent.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Preceding Pre*ced"ing, a. 1. Going before; -- opposed to following. 2. (Astron.) In the direction toward which stars appear to move. See Following, 2.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Antecedent, precedent, anterior, previous, prior, precursory, earlier, foregoing, above, above-mentioned, aforesaid, above-named.

Moby Thesaurus

above, advanced, aforegoing, aforementioned, ante, antecedence, antecedency, antecedent, anteposition, anterior, anteriority, anticipatory, avant-garde, chief, ci-devant, dominion, earlier, early, elder, ere, erstwhile, exordial, exploratory, first, fore, foregoing, foremost, former, front, front position, heading, headmost, heretofore, hitherto, in, inaugural, initiatory, last, latter, le pas, leading, older, original, other, past, precedence, precedency, precedent, precession, precessional, precurrent, precursive, precursor, precursory, preexistent, prefatory, preference, prefixation, preliminary, prelude, preludial, prelusive, preparatory, prevenient, previous, prime, prior, priority, proemial, propaedeutic, prothesis, senior, superiority, the lead, to, top priority, urgency, van