Synonyms of already

already

adverb

ȯl-ˈre-dē 

as in earlier

so as to precede something in order of time

when we got back to the house, the movers had already left

Synonyms & Similar Words

• earlier
• ahead
• previously
• early
• before
• now
• preliminarily
• formerly
• beforehand
• antecedently
• shortly
• afore
• soon
• anteriorly
• in advance
• first
• prematurely
• presently
• first off
• before long
• a priori
• erelong

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• later
• afterward
• subsequently
• after
• next
• behind
• by and by

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of already

In downtown Wilmette, the holiday lights are already up, but before the sun came up on Thursday, business owners were calling board up companies. — Jermont Terry, CBS News, 13 Nov. 2026

Thompson recalled returning to prepare her classroom in August and finding temperatures had already reached 80 degrees. — Charlotte Observer, 13 Nov. 2026

Restaurant chains such as Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Red Lobster, Papa John’s, Bahama Breeze and Starbucks have either already closed or plan to soon close hundreds of locations. — Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 12 Nov. 2026

The future value of intellectual property may increasingly depend not only on what an organization has already invented but also on its proprietary capacity to generate, validate and commercialize future discoveries. — Joseph K. Hopkins, Forbes.com, 12 Nov. 2026