formerly
adverb
for·mer·ly
ˈfȯr-mər-lē 
ˈfȯr-mə-
1
: at an earlier time : previously
Istanbul was formerly known as Constantinople.
2
obsolete
: just before
Examples of formerly in a Sentence
He was formerly a congressman.
the newspaper formerly known as “The Newsprint”
Recent Examples on the Web
Glenn was formerly married to Kerry Michelle Glenn.
—
Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 16 Dec. 2025
The Raise the River partnership has purchased 10,000 acre-feet of permanent water rights to divert toward formerly dry river sections where a high water table is likeliest to keep tree roots wet the longest.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Reiner was formerly married to director and actor Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
Tyler Hubbard, formerly of Florida Georgia Line, will open the July 4 show.
—Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for formerly
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Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 16 Dec. 2025
The Raise the River partnership has purchased 10,000 acre-feet of permanent water rights to divert toward formerly dry river sections where a high water table is likeliest to keep tree roots wet the longest.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Reiner was formerly married to director and actor Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
Tyler Hubbard, formerly of Florida Georgia Line, will open the July 4 show.
—Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for formerly
Cite this Entry
“Formerly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/formerly. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
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formerly
adverb
for·mer·ly
ˈfȯr-mər-lē
: at an earlier time : previously
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