as in previous
going before another in time or order
I'd like to follow up on an antecedent question from another reporter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in cause
someone or something responsible for a result
what are the antecedents of the American Revolutionary War?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in forerunner
something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed
the typewriter is the antecedent of the computer keyboard
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of antecedent
Hakan Karaosman, Sourcing Journal, 17 Oct. 2024
Relaxed high-altitude winds, the spreading of air aloft and the presence of an antecedent tropical wave all made for the formation of a hurricane — but record-warm water temperatures, reminiscent of September, helped transform the storm into a top-tier tempest.
—Amanda Coletta, Washington Post, 2 July 2024
Book Marks
july 17, Literary Hub, 17 July 2025
Several Supreme Court justices have openly questioned the principle, its application to the states and its historic antecedents.
—Time, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for antecedent
Adjective
Responsible purchasing is antecedent to fair and equitable decarbonization in the supply chain.
—Hakan Karaosman, Sourcing Journal, 17 Oct. 2024
Relaxed high-altitude winds, the spreading of air aloft and the presence of an antecedent tropical wave all made for the formation of a hurricane — but record-warm water temperatures, reminiscent of September, helped transform the storm into a top-tier tempest.
—Amanda Coletta, Washington Post, 2 July 2024
Noun
Philip Roth and David Foster Wallace come to mind as antecedents, though Tulathimutte has their wit without their warmth.
—Book Marks
july 17, Literary Hub, 17 July 2025
Several Supreme Court justices have openly questioned the principle, its application to the states and its historic antecedents.
—Time, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for antecedent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antecedent
Adjective
-
Police located a vehicle description and license plate associated with him from a previous call for service.—
Sydney Barragan,
Oc Register,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Founded and headquartered in Boise, Micron is Idaho’s largest for-profit employer, according to previous Statesman reporting.—
Darin Oswald,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The preliminary investigation did not find any obvious signs of trauma on Strother and his cause of death is pending, according to the BCA.—
Mars King,
Twin Cities,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The officers determined that the woman’s death did not appear to be from natural causes.—
Sydney Barragan,
Oc Register,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The League of Nations was the forerunner to the UN and is famous among historians for its formation after the wreckage of World War I and its almost immediate failure to prevent the rise of authoritarianism in the 1930s that gave way to World War II.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The issue is also deeply personal for Hall—his tribal council has granted and rescinded his own enrollment, all based on evolving interpretations of old documents about an ancestor.—
David Treuer,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The results show that the earliest lizard ancestors almost certainly lacked the armor altogether, with the trait remaining absent for tens of millions of years after lizards first evolved.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The vast majority of these deaths are caused by illicit fentanyl which experts report is typically synthesized in Mexico from precursor chemicals provided by Chinese operatives and brought into the United States via vehicles passing through official ports of entry.—
Charles LeBaron,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The Golden Globes are a great precursor to what is to come there.—
Noelle Lilley,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, the country’s energy sector is in free-fall.—
Rob Nikolewski,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Her predecessor, who is no relation, recruited her to run for council a decade ago.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Antecedent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antecedent. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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