EARLY Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

early 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of early

as in ancient

relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period early birds of the Jurassic period

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in unexpected

occurring before the usual or expected time we had an early dinner so as not to miss the concert

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

early

2 of 2

adverb

ˈər-lē

as in immediately

before the usual or expected time that year spring arrived early

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of early

Adjective

Pilot programs involving perennial grains are in the works around the world, testing how to grow them in different regions, climates and soils, but the research is early and slow-moving. — ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026 The surprising new data comes from the major lender Rocket Mortgage, which analyzed early payments on nearly 3 million of its loans in all 50 states over the past five years. — Julie Z. Weil, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2026

Adverb

The weather service said confidence is beginning to increase for the potential for extra-large surf along south and western exposures early next week. — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026 The team behind Heritage announced the opening earlier this week. — Henri Hollis, AJC.com, 5 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for early

Recent Examples of Synonyms for early

Adjective

After becoming a daily fixture in the 1990s, blackouts have worsened since 2024, when Cuba’s ancient power grid began to collapse and Soviet-era electrical stations began failing more frequently.

— Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
Its towering basalt cliffs formed as ancient volcanic rock cooled and fractured.

— Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancient

Adjective

Alongside grapefruit and bergamot, an Earl Grey tea accord adds unexpected warmth.

— Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
An unexpected benefit of this process is that its solid carbon byproduct turned out to be graphite, a material used in batteries and electrodes that the US currently imports.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of unexpected

Adverb

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, which doubles as the region’s medical examiner, did not immediately respond to a request for information.

— Dennis Romero, NBC news, 5 Sep. 2026
Requests for comment sent to the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office and the local circuit court clerk were not immediately returned.

— Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of immediately

Adjective

Between these spaces exists a world balanced on the edge of the modern and the primitive, the high-tech and the rural, the corporeal and the mythic.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
When the Followers began, healthcare on the Western frontier was primitive, unsanitary and riddled with con artists peddling fake cures.

— Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of primitive

Adjective

The Supreme Court, in a brief order last week, found that an earlier challenge to Trump’s executive order was premature because USPS had not yet issued a final rule.

— Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 31 Aug. 2026
Infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn.

— Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of premature

Adverb

Salesforce’s recent blowout earnings show why the balance of power may be shifting away from frontier models and back toward software companies that investors had prematurely left for dead.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Steven Tian and Stephen Henriques, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026
The girls have faced numerous health challenges since being born prematurely at 30 weeks, including brain bleeds, cardiac arrest and stroke, and have been in and out of hospitals for much of their lives.

— Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of prematurely

Adjective

Another, Undine kommt (Undine Comes), 2025, has its head in profile with a frontal eye, evoking the conventions of ancient Egyptian art and prehistoric female figurines, motifs that permeate Stötzer’s drawings, writings, and costumes.

— Elisa R. Linn, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Beyond art, Griffin has also been a major buyer of important documents and prehistoric fossils.

— Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of prehistoric

Adjective

And at the end of it all, a euphoric fan base, tipsy with its sudden reversal of fortune, belted out a 1976 Abba song in South Florida.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
The model is pulled in ten different directions by different internal product teams, resulting in an interface that suffers from sudden behavioral resets and an inability to smoothly execute complex, multi-turn human requests.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of sudden

Browse Nearby Words

earls

early

earmark

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“Early.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/early. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of early

adjective

adverb

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