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
There has been a rise in anti-Jewish hostility in Britain, predating the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that started two years ago, according to community groups and the people suffering the firsthand effects in the United Kingdom.
—
Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2025
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
Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predating
preceding
Verb
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Lemmon is constantly shifting against the background stars beyond and is best viewed in the hours preceding dawn for those in the northern hemisphere.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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But when the 2021 New York City mayoral election came along, DSA didn't endorse a candidate, despite the fact that the organization had amassed a large canvassing infrastructure in the years preceding it.—
Halle Troadec,
ABC News,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predating. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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