formerly

adverb

for·​mer·​ly ˈfȯr-mər-lē 

ˈfȯr-mə-

1

: at an earlier time : previously

Istanbul was formerly known as Constantinople.

2

obsolete : just before

Synonyms of formerly

• once

Examples of formerly in a Sentence

He was formerly a congressman.

the newspaper formerly known as “The Newsprint”

Recent Examples on the Web

The Tesla, SpaceX, and X app (formerly known as Twitter) boss just put doctors and surgeons on a three-year deadline before robots can not only do their jobs but also outnumber them in practices and hospitals. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2026

The Embassy Suites is located close to the i3 life science and technology complex in the UTC area that is owned by BioMed and was formerly leased to Illumina. —Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026

Members of The Scott Adams School (formerly called Coffee With Scott Adams) shared the news of Adams’ death on Tuesday. —Lauren Coates, Variety, 13 Jan. 2026

Teyana Taylor says that her love for Ye, formerly Kanye West, will never fade — despite the rapper’s troublesome track record in recent years. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 13 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

formerly

adverb

for·​mer·​ly ˈfȯr-mər-lē 

: at an earlier time : previously