as in preceding
to go or come before in time
gunpowder predated the invention of the gun by several centuries
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Recent Examples of predating
The Next Generation is divisive among fans but has aged strangely well, predating the legacy sequel craze by decades (Marilyn Burns’ Sally briefly returns).
—
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
Despite all the recent tech wealth and tech jobs and development growth, Seattle’s creative community has shrunken, a trend long predating COVID.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Far predating meticulous records, the war sprawled across the civilian populations of many nations.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
The song goes back to 1965, predating my first reading of the script in 1985.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
Despite all the recent tech wealth and tech jobs and development growth, Seattle’s creative community has shrunken, a trend long predating COVID.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Far predating meticulous records, the war sprawled across the civilian populations of many nations.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
The song goes back to 1965, predating my first reading of the script in 1985.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predating
preceding
Verb
-
In practice, Mitchell was not around long enough to oversee the transfer window immediately preceding this season, but regular discussions were held across 2024-25 to determine the alterations Newcastle should make for future European seasons.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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Young adults between the ages of 20 and 44 (42%) and patients arriving from recreational activities (52% of the relatively few cases with a preceding activity listed) were most frequently seen in emergency rooms.—
Shaun McKinnon,
AZCentral.com,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predating. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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