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
Follow her on Bluesky @katiewiseman and X, formerly Twitter, at @itskatiewiseman.
—
Chris Sims, IndyStar, 8 Mar. 2026
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council who formerly served as the late Khamenei’s top advisor, said in his first remarks since the ayatollah’s killing that his assassination was unprecedented.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
And the Actor Awards (formerly known as the SAG Awards) were Sunday.
—Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Follow her on Bluesky @katiewiseman and X, formerly Twitter, at @itskatiewiseman.
—Chris Sims, Louisville Courier Journal, 7 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for formerly
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Chris Sims, IndyStar, 8 Mar. 2026
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council who formerly served as the late Khamenei’s top advisor, said in his first remarks since the ayatollah’s killing that his assassination was unprecedented.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
And the Actor Awards (formerly known as the SAG Awards) were Sunday.
—Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Follow her on Bluesky @katiewiseman and X, formerly Twitter, at @itskatiewiseman.
—Chris Sims, Louisville Courier Journal, 7 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for formerly
Cite this Entry
“Formerly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/formerly. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
formerly
adverb
for·mer·ly
ˈfȯr-mər-lē
: at an earlier time : previously
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