ANCIENTLY Synonyms: 20 Similar and Opposite Words

anciently

adverb

Definition of anciently

as in previously

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of anciently Tell El-Fara’in, anciently known as Imet, was a significant urban and religious hub from the Middle Kingdom onward. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 14 Sep. 2025 It was used anciently as a preservative, a seasoning, and medicinally for its antibacterial properties. — Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 2 Feb. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for anciently

Adverb

Vucic’s tenure saw Serbia go in a more pro-Western direction than previously, playing a delicate balancing act between a plethora of actors often directly at odds with each other.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026
Lula previously spent more than a year in prison on corruption convictions that were eventually annulled.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of previously

Adverb

Our heroes have escaped the perilous jungles of Jumanji before, but this time Jumanji breaks free of its console, unleashing its chaos into our world.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 28 Oct. 2026
If the United States fails to safeguard its deepening military partnerships, adversaries will have more opportunities than ever before to at once undermine American defenses and improve their own militaries.

— Sam Mullins, Foreign Affairs, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of before

Adverb

Absentee investors act as hosts or hire property managers to handle bookings, packing as many as 14 people into formerly 2-bedroom units subdivided with unpermitted walls.

— Linda Robertson Updated October 22, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Zuckerberg said that Threads, the newest addition to the Family of Apps, has now overtaken X (formerly Twitter) in monthly active users, while WhatsApp is seeing all-time highs for messages sent.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of formerly

Adverb

Six of the injured are under 18 years old and the youngest is 11 years old, Chief Lawrence Revell of the Tallahassee Police Department said at a press conference early Sunday morning.

— Samantha Cookinham, NBC news, 25 Oct. 2026
Brandon Miller, he of the $209 million contract extension earlier this week, started very cold and never stopped.

— Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of early

Adverb

The plague bacterium appears to have emerged as a human pathogen more than 5,700 years ago, evolving from a soil bacterium called Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, says Hendrick Poinar, a biologist at McMaster University, who works with ancient DNA.

— Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
Only two decades ago, my family looked West for a treatment for my grandmother that was unavailable in China.

— Ruby Wang, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026