as in previous
going before another in time or order
behavior that may be explained by a precedent event in her troubled life
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Recent Examples of precedent
This adaptation demands re-conceiving large chunks of plot from the ground-up while retaining Liu’s themes, not to mention visualizing concepts with less precedent onscreen than the fantasy tropes Martin deployed and subverted.
—
Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024
Judge Barrett did not entirely embrace the notion of super-precedent.
—Jonathan Turley, WSJ, 15 Oct. 2020
Many legal scholars question the basis for declaring an ever-wider array of cases to be super-precedent as a way to protect favored rulings.
—Jonathan Turley, WSJ, 15 Oct. 2020
Britain has no clear privacy law, so precedent matters.
—The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
See All Example Sentences for precedent
Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024
Judge Barrett did not entirely embrace the notion of super-precedent.
—Jonathan Turley, WSJ, 15 Oct. 2020
Many legal scholars question the basis for declaring an ever-wider array of cases to be super-precedent as a way to protect favored rulings.
—Jonathan Turley, WSJ, 15 Oct. 2020
Britain has no clear privacy law, so precedent matters.
—The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
See All Example Sentences for precedent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precedent
Adjective
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Don’t Chelsea and the Premier League have previous on associated party transactions?—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
19 Apr. 2025
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But Matt Lyons, CPS’ chief talent officer from 2015 to 2021, who oversaw similar discipline conversations with previous boards, said the decision to reinstate the cook seemed unusual.—
Nell Salzman,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Precedent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precedent. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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