heretofore

here·to·fore | \ ˈhir-tə-ˌfȯr

How to pronounce heretofore (audio)

, ˌhir-tə-ˈfȯr \

Definition of heretofore

: up to this time : hitherto heretofore unimaginable possibilities I tell you now what we have heretofore kept secret from you— A. C. Whitehead

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Examples of heretofore in a Sentence

Heretofore her writing has never displayed such depth of feeling. This technology has created heretofore unimaginable possibilities.

Recent Examples on the Web Some experts believe the man is Abraham Lincoln, captured hours after the nation's beloved 16th president succumbed to an assassin's bullet on April 15, 1865, a heretofore unknown photo of incalculable emotional and historic value. — David Bauder, Star Tribune, "Documentary tries to prove existence of dead Lincoln photo," 1 Oct. 2020 No matter what the future holds, though, Antetokounmpo has revitalized the Bucks franchise in ways that were heretofore unimaginable. — Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo is NBA Most Valuable Player for second straight season," 18 Sep. 2020 Sadly, this is permeating most professional team sports and will chase away heretofore loyal fans who are the backbone of any professional franchise. — WSJ, "NFL Chooses to Run With Political Football," 13 Sep. 2020 Oracle’s stock, heretofore up 8% this year, gained another 4% in pre-market trading on Friday. — Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, "Peloton races to the future, but it’s still no tech company," 11 Sep. 2020 That suggests the region may have experienced a prolonged, heretofore unrecognized drought that lasted more than 1 millennium, the researchers report this month in Nature Communications. — Charles Choi, Science | AAAS, "Ancient megadrought may explain civilization’s ‘missing millennia’ in Southeast Asia," 24 Aug. 2020 With a new stadium set to open in 2021, the minor-league baseball squad heretofore known as the Beloit Snappers are accepting submissions for a new team identity. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Beloit minor-league team moving on from 'Snappers' name, looking for suggestions," 4 Aug. 2020 Nile becomes a reluctant recruit — Andy basically kidnaps her — and slowly comes around to what her heretofore undiscovered powers mean. — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, "Charlize Theron is a tough and moody superhero in Netflix action drama 'The Old Guard'," 8 July 2020 The hour-by-hour quantification of the status of bodily fluids—heretofore the purview of diabetics and hypochondriacs—will be standard preoccupations of everyday life. — Quartz Staff, Quartz, "Benjamin Bratton says we stay hyperaware of contagion post-Covid," 30 June 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heretofore.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

5 Oct 2020

Cite this Entry

“Heretofore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heretofore. Accessed 26 Oct. 2020.

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