earlier

adverb

as in ahead
so as to precede something in order of time he had arrived earlier to take care of some preliminary matters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for earlier
  1. ahead
  2. early
  3. before
  4. already
  5. previously
Adverb
  • Releases in North America and other markets are expected in the months ahead.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Sunday’s 31-24 loss to Cincinnati – the latest miserable day during this depressing season - crystallized several issues that general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley must navigate in the days and weeks ahead.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of ahead
Adverb
  • But viewers had already seen Rosalía in them minutes earlier, at the conclusion of her one appearance in a comedy sketch.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Even early in the morning, the cafe had locals in doing breakfast meetings.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of early
Adverb
  • In 2025, its respondents averaged $347,460 in fine-art purchases, up 19% from the year before.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • As the impact of the sanctions kicked in, Huawei's consumer business — once the company's largest by revenue — halved to about $34 billion in 2021 from the year before.
    — Matthew Tan,Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of before
Adverb
  • And last December, after an already enviable year, Winter became the newest member of this exclusive club.
    — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
  • That means news of the divorce is already becoming semi-public.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of already
Adverb
  • According to court filings, Seaver previously worked for private military contractors and later provided security for Parton and her properties through his company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services (SAPS), which is also a party to the lawsuit.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The Nobel Prize in Physics, first given in 1901, has been previously awarded 119 times to 229 individuals.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of previously
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

earl
earlier
earliest
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Earlier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earlier. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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