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
Adverb
-
The movie’s narrative [spoilers ahead] revolves around the lovely circus aerialist Cleopatra, who romantically pursues little person Hans, a performer in the sideshow.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025 -
The film is set high in the mountains as fall comes to an end and a family prepares for the long winter ahead.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Liberty Hall hired Houlihan to raise the capital for a classic direct that closed earlier this year.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
-
Getty Images Rarely would a head coach whose team conceded seven goals in a home game just over one week earlier be described as being in a good position.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Peter Berg, who’s directing the film, will be co-writing the project alongside Sheridan — the two are close friends and have worked together before on the movies Hell or High Water and Wind River.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Matthew had run away once before.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Combs has already spent 14 months behind bars after his arrest in September 2024.—
Adam Reiss,
NBC news,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Spanx Shape Original EveryWear Flare Jeans Without any extra discount codes on top, these flattering flare jeans are already 60 percent off.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
This track has more spiral turns than any other track previously created by Andretti.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Pregnancy is difficult to detect in ancient human remains, and scientists previously believed that the composition of hard tissues was so overwhelmingly inorganic that these proteins would not be preserved or detected, Barlow said.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Earlier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earlier. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share