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

Morando, the drummer of alt-rock band Liily and formerly of the Regrettes, co-wrote and produced a couple of tracks on 2023’s Endless Summer Vacation. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026

Imports, formerly Nigeria’s main source of petrol before Dangote, declined from accounting for 60% of domestic supply all of last year to just over 20% between January and July in 2026, per the agency’s data. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Most recently, she was linked to MGK, the musician formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly, 36. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026

Dogan Kaban, formerly Amiral Technologies’ business development manager, said the combination creates an opportunity to take DiagFit to more industrial customers. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 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