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

Synonyms of formerly

• once

Examples of formerly in a Sentence

He was formerly a congressman.

the newspaper formerly known as “The Newsprint”

Recent Examples on the Web

With Scorpio, nothing stays on the surface in part because the sign is ruled by two planets (formerly by Mars, now by Pluto, which was only discovered in 1930). —Glamour, 25 Apr. 2026

The city won the settlement in August 2025 after a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies McKesson and Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen). —Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026

The government of Armenia is trying to warm its formerly tense relationship with Israel in an effort to overhaul its foreign policy, but its overtures are being met with outrage from the public. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 25 Apr. 2026

The company owns Grok, an AI chatbot, as well as the social platform X, formerly Twitter. —Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

formerly

adverb

for·​mer·​ly ˈfȯr-mər-lē 

: at an earlier time : previously