What does Formerly mean?

Definitions for Formerly
ˈfɔr mər lifor·mer·ly

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Formerly.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. once, formerly, at one time, erstwhile, erstadverb

    at a previous time

    "at one time he loved her"; "her erstwhile writing"; "she was a dancer once";

Wiktionary

  1. formerlyadverb

    at some time in the past

  2. formerlyadverb

    previously; once

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Formerlyadverb

    In times past.

    Etymology: from former.

    The places mentioned were all of them formerly the cool retirements of the Romans, where they used to hide themselves among the woods and mountains, during the excessive heats of their Summer. Joseph Addison, on Italy.

    As an animal degenerates by diseases, the animal salts, formerly benign, approach towards an alkaline nature. Arbuthnot.

ChatGPT

  1. formerly

    Formerly refers to something that occurred, existed, or was valid in the past, but not anymore; it is used to describe a previous state, position, or condition.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Formerlyadverb

    in time past, either in time immediately preceding or at any indefinite distance; of old; heretofore

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Formerly' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4390

  2. Adverbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Formerly' in Adverbs Frequency: #292

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce Formerly?

How to say Formerly in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Formerly in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Formerly in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of Formerly in a Sentence

  1. Gilbert Villegas:

    Emanuel said at a recent press conference. The city says the free IDs will help those who currently struggle to get one – like the homeless, formerly incarcerated and undocumented immigrants – live a better life. NEW YORK CITY MAY ERASE ID CARD DATA TO PROTECT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS You need an ID for a job. You need an ID to get an apartment. You just need an ID for everything.

  2. Mary Wilson Little:

    The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you.

  3. Thomas Szasz, The Second Sin (1973) "Science and Scientism":

    Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic.

  4. Marcus Hicks:

    What concerns me most specifically is al Qaeda, because I believe that al Qaeda-associated threats here, so al Shabaab and JNIM and the other offshoots of formerly known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, are taking direction from al Qaeda core and are sort of walking through the al Qaeda playbook to develop clandestine infrastructure, and I think they have a disciplined, patient approach to building a base that will allow them to form a caliphate when the time is right.

  5. Paul Dergarabedian:

    Perhaps though the secret sauce is the PG rating that enables such films to have mass appeal and offer appropriate content for everyone one from the smaller kids of age 5 and 6 to teenagers, college-age adults, people of middle age and even seniors, what was formerly an uncool rating has now become the hottest rating this year and has powered some of the most successful movies in 2016.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Formerly#1#6092#10000

Translations for Formerly

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"Formerly." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 22 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Formerly>.

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