How to Use not so long ago in a Sentence

not so long ago

phrase

• This was an image and sound that seemed a long way off not so long ago.
  — Simon Johnson, The Athletic, 20 Dec. 2024
• So—one day not so long ago, the paper clip came to my aid once again.
  — Paolo Confino, Fortune, 6 June 2024
• But not so long ago, romantic partners could high five their problems away.
  — Vulture, 29 Oct. 2023
• There was a time—not so long ago—when my phone was prone to overheating due to its sheer volume of apps.
  — Emma Specter, Vogue, 2 Jan. 2024
• Once upon a time, not so long ago, two best friends became partners in life and in business.
  — Michelle Matthews | [email protected], al, 18 May 2022
• Across the room, distanced chairs in small pods dot a space that not so long ago held as many as 400.
  — Emily Opilo, baltimoresun.com, 7 Mar. 2021
• Many of the soldiers serving in the marine corps had ordinary jobs not so long ago.
  — Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 June 2024
• Tufts of grasses, yellow and brown by late June, offer signs that crops grew here not so long ago.
  — Alissa J. Rubin, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2023
• And not so long ago, the Queen had a serious case of pneumonia.
  — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 16 Sep. 2025
• Once upon a time, not so long ago, a nip slip was the most tragic thing that could happen to a red carpet.
  — Katie Donbavand, Glamour, 24 Dec. 2022
• There was a time not so long ago when Korean dramas rarely went past one season.
  — Kayti Burt, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2023
• There was a time, not so long ago, when fashion and politics didn’t really mix.
  — Vogue, 1 Apr. 2022
• Once upon a time — not so long ago — the internet opened like a library with no closing hours.
  — Big Think, 10 Sep. 2025
• There was a time not so long ago when the future of the Broadway play was in serious doubt.
  — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025
• The studio not so long ago was trying to acquire Paramount.
  — Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 15 Mar. 2026
• The Hulk mask that Saunders started wearing not so long ago has its roots in many things.
  — Eddie Pells and Pat Graham, chicagotribune.com, 1 Aug. 2021
• There was a time not so long ago that Microsoft and Intel were both atop the tech world.
  — Bygeoff Colvin, Fortune, 20 June 2024
• So just what does the next chapter look like for a book store retailer on the publishing scrap heap not so long ago?
  — Mark Faithfull, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2023
• Just like not so long ago no one would have predicted a Kansan would play in the World Cup.
  — Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2026
• There was a period, not so long ago, when effort still seemed to correlate with outcome.
  — Lela London, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
• There were reports that the two weren’t getting along not so long ago, when Andrew was first stripped of his titles.
  — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 5 Feb. 2026
• There was a time, not so long ago, when Josh Mosteller was perfectly content with having just one child.
  — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 23 May 2024
• As for the cows, there was a time not so long ago when an islander might round one up from the beach, take it home to graze and fatten up, then butcher it for meat.
  — Longreads, 2 Nov. 2022
• Second, the giant fish not so long ago nearly vanished from Jurua, as vessels swept the lakes with large nets.
  — Fabiano Maisonnave and Jorge Saenz, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Nov. 2022
• There was once a time—a time not so long ago, in fact—when the menswear on the Oscars red carpet was, to put it bluntly, a bit of a snooze.
  — Liam Hess, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024
• Brands that not so long ago had thrown themselves wholeheartedly into the metaverse soon began to follow suit.
  — Webb Wright, WIRED, 7 Oct. 2024
• There was a time not so long ago when Osaka would do to others what Mboko did to her Thursday night.
  — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2025
• Y’know, there was a time, not so long ago, that the Detroit Tigers were buyers at the trade deadline, rather than sellers.
  — Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 31 July 2023
• At one point not so long ago, Maryland football’s offense was methodical.
  — Ryan McFadden, Baltimore Sun, 18 Nov. 2022
• Those objects that were behind UCLA in the rearview mirror not so long ago are no longer there.
  — Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2022