EARLIER Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

earlier

adverb

as in ahead

so as to precede something in order of time he had arrived earlier to take care of some preliminary matters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for earlier

Adverb

Burrow's 13-yard scoring pass to Tee Higgins put Cincinnati ahead to stay.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
An October 15 Datafolha survey put Lula ahead among women by 49% to 40%, while Flávio led among men by 52% to 40%.

— Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of ahead

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

Trump has also called off plans to renew attacks on Iran before.

— Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Questions about the video will likely shadow Ramaswamy, a biotech billionaire who previously ran for president but has never before held public office, in the final two weeks of the contest.

— Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of before

Adverb

Infrastructure on this scale needs a dedicated body that can keep pace with the technology and draw on the expertise already spread across existing agencies.

— Neil Chatterjee, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Jeffries will campaign with Johnny Garcia, who’s running a competitive race in one of those seats where Republicans initially expected an easier pickup (after already forcing one longtime Democratic incumbent to retire).

— Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of already

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

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Browse Nearby Words

earl

earlier

earliest

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Style

“Earlier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earlier. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of earlier

adverb

Example Sentences

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