as in former
having been such at some previous time
a quondam oil baron now living comfortably in retirement
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Recent Examples of quondam
By coincidence, the same day that Reichstag burned, Einstein wrote to his quondam mistress, Margarete Lenbach.
—
Thomas Levenson, The Atlantic, 9 June 2017
Thomas Levenson, The Atlantic, 9 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quondam
Adjective
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The winning bid for the rare card was placed by venture capitalist AJ Scaramucci, the son of former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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The Sun Belt is the only real exception, having now defined itself as FBS’ actual Southeastern conference, partly by losing its former oddballs like Idaho and New Mexico State.—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Directed and co-written by Alexandre Rockwell, the film follows an aspiring filmmaker (Steve Buscemi) who falls in with an irresistibly charming gangster (Seymour Cassel, who won Sundance’s first acting award) as his erstwhile producer.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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La Dolce Vita and the Minerva, which occupies the erstwhile palazzo of 17th-century aristocrats, debuted last April.—
Adam Erace,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The oldest American woman to compete in the women’s singles event in nearly a century now sits in a distant 13th place ahead of the 4-minute free skate on Thursday night.—
Brittany Ghiroli,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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Lowenthal has spoken highly of Australia’s similar ban, which went into effect in December and bans accounts for all children under 16 years old.—
Kate Wolffe,
Sacbee.com,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Acclaimed Black music artists like Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn and Cab Calloway stopped at Dooky Chase's post-performance, unable to patronize other establishments.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
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While 657 classified positions have been identified for closure, the district spokesperson said the final number of layoffs has not yet been determined and is expected to be lower due to retirements and other personnel moves.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Quondam.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quondam. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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