Synonyms of formerly

formerly

adverb

ˈfȯr-mər-lē 

1

as in once

at an earlier or previous time

the newspaper formerly known as "The Newsprint"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• once
• erstwhile
• onetime

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recently
• now
• currently
• presently
• lately

2

as in earlier

so as to precede something in order of time

if you didn't get a malaria shot formerly, you'd better get one now

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of formerly

In 2022, the company launched Independent 20th Century, conceived by Dee, Higgs, and Sofie Scheerlinck, formerly of the TEFAF fair, to focus on art from 1900 to 2000. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Several months later, Haas and his wife bought three more restaurants, formerly of Carrols, bringing K&JK Enterprises’ total footprint up to 15 locations. — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026

This is well illustrated at Dia Beacon, where the sculpture Relatum (formerly System), 1969, sits near two paintings both titled With Winds, 1991. — Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

In his 80s, Rather took to social media, attracting hundreds of thousands of followers via Facebook, the social platform X, formerly Twitter, and Steady, a newsletter distributed via the Substack platform. — Walter Podrazik, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026