former
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form·er 1
(fôr′mər)n.
1. One that forms; a maker or creator: a former of ideas.
2. A member of a school form: a fifth former.
for·mer 2
(fôr′mər)adj.
1. Relating to or taking place in the past: in former times.
2. Having been so in the past: a former ambassador; his former boss.
3. Being the first of two mentioned.
n.
The first of two persons or things mentioned: "The army was pulling itself together, the government was coming apart. The success of the former was continually imperiled by the failure of the latter" (Garry Wills).
[Middle English, comparative of forme, first, from Old English forma; see per in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
former
(ˈfɔːmə)adj (prenominal)
1. belonging to or occurring in an earlier time: former glory.
2. having been at a previous time: a former colleague.
3. denoting the first or first mentioned of two: in the former case.
4. near the beginning
n
the former the first or first mentioned of two: distinguished from latter
former
(ˈfɔːmə)n
1. a person or thing that forms or shapes
2. (Electrical Engineering) electrical engineering a tool for giving a coil or winding the required shape, sometimes consisting of a frame on which the wire can be wound, the frame then being removed
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
for•mer1
(ˈfɔr mər)adj.
1. preceding in time; prior or earlier: on a former occasion.
2. past, long past, or ancient: in former times.
3. being the first mentioned of two (disting. from latter).
4. having once or previously been; erstwhile: a former president.
[1125–75; Middle English]
form•er2
(ˈfɔr mər)n.
1. a person or thing that forms or serves to form.
2. a pupil in a particular form or class.
[1300–50]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
former
– late1. 'former'
You use former in front of a noun to indicate that the person you are talking about is no longer the thing referred to by the noun. For example, the former chairman of a company used to be the chairman, but is not the chairman now.
...former President Gerald Ford.
...William Nickerson, a former Treasury official.
2. 'late'
You use late in front of a name or noun to indicate that the person you are talking about has recently died.
...the late Mr Parkin.
I'd like to talk to you about your late husband.
latter
– formerThe latter should only be used to refer to the second of two things or people which have already been mentioned.
Given the choice between working for someone else and working for the family business, she'd prefer the latter.
You use the former to talk about the first of two things already mentioned.
These two firms are in direct competition, with the former trying to cut costs and increase profits.
If you are talking about three or more things or people, don't use 'the latter' or 'the former'. Use an expression with the last or the first.
The company has three branches, in Birmingham, Plymouth, and Greenock. The last of these will close next year.
If you are mentioning things for the first time, don't use 'the former' or 'the latter'. Use the first or the second.
There will be two matches next week. The first will be in Brighton, and the second in London.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  former - the first of two or the first mentioned of two; "Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the former is remembered today"first, number one - the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first" latter - the second of two or the second mentioned of two; "Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the latter is remembered today" |
| Adj. | 1. | former - referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several); "the novel was made into a film in 1943 and again in 1967; I prefer the former version to the latter one" latter - referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several); "in the latter case" |
| 2. | former - belonging to some prior time; "erstwhile friend"; "our former glory"; "the once capital of the state"; "her quondam lover" past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year" | |
| 3. | former - (used especially of persons) of the immediate past; "the former president"; "our late President is still very active"; "the previous occupant of the White House" past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year" | |
| 4. | former - belonging to the distant past; "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times" past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
former
adjective
1. previous, one-time, erstwhile, ex-, late, earlier, prior, sometime, foregoing, antecedent, anterior, quondam, whilom (archaic), ci-devant (French) He pleaded not guilty to murdering his former wife.
previous coming, following, future, current, succeeding, latter, subsequent, ensuing
previous coming, following, future, current, succeeding, latter, subsequent, ensuing
2. past, earlier, long ago, bygone, old, ancient, departed, old-time, long gone, of yore Remember him as he was in former years.
past future, present, current, modern, present-day
past future, present, current, modern, present-day
3. aforementioned, above, first mentioned, aforesaid, preceding, foregoing Most people can be forgiven for choosing the former.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
former
adjective1. Just gone by or elapsed:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
سَابِقسابِق
bývalýdřívější
tidligere
entinenedellinenedeltävä
bivši
korábbiegykorielőbbielőzőhajdani
fyrri
以前の
전의
ankstyvesnis
agrākaisbijušais
nekdanjiprejšnji
föregående
ก่อนหน้านี้
người tiền nhiệm
former
[ˈfɔːməʳ]A. ADJ
1. (= earlier, previous) → antiguo; [chairman, wife etc] → ex
a former pupil → un antiguo alumno
in former days → antiguamente
the former president → el ex-presidente OLD
a former pupil → un antiguo alumno
in former days → antiguamente
the former president → el ex-presidente OLD
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
former
[ˈfɔːrmər] adj (before n) → ancien(ne)
a former pupil → un ancien élève
the former Prime Minister → l'ancien Premier ministre
the former president → l'ex-président
the former Yugoslavia → l'ex-Yougoslavie
the former Soviet Union → l'ex-Union soviétique
in former times → autrefois
in former years → par le passé
a former pupil → un ancien élève
the former Prime Minister → l'ancien Premier ministre
the former president → l'ex-président
the former Yugoslavia → l'ex-Yougoslavie
the former Soviet Union → l'ex-Union soviétique
in former times → autrefois
in former years → par le passé
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
former
adj
(= previous) president, chairman, employee etc → früher, ehemalig; home, prison, school, hospital etc → ehemalig; country, place, strength, authority etc → früher; times, years, days → vergangen; former President Richard Nixon → der frühere or ehemalige Präsident Richard Nixon; his former wife → seine Exfrau; her former husband → ihr Exmann m; the radicals of former days → die Radikalen der Vergangenheit; in former years or times or days → in früheren Zeiten
(as opposed to latter) the former option/alternative etc → die erstere Möglichkeit/Alternative etc
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
former
[ˈfɔːməʳ]1. adj
a. (earlier, previous) → vecchio/a (before n), precedente; (chairman, wife) → ex inv (before n)
in former days → nei tempi passati, in altri tempi
the former president → l'ex presidente
the former Yugoslavia/Soviet Union → l'ex Jugoslavia/Unione Sovietica
in former days → nei tempi passati, in altri tempi
the former president → l'ex presidente
the former Yugoslavia/Soviet Union → l'ex Jugoslavia/Unione Sovietica
b. (of two) → primo/a
2. pron the former ( ...the latter) → il/la primo/a (... l'ultimo/a), quello/a... (questo/a)
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
former
(ˈfoːmə) adjective of an earlier time. In former times people did not travel so much.
ˈformerly adverb in earlier times. Formerly this large town was a small village.
the former the first of two things mentioned. We visited America and Australia, staying longer in the former than in the latter.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
former
→ سَابِق bývalý tidligere ehemalig πρώην antiguo entinen ancien bivši ex 以前の 전의 voormalig foregående poprzedni anterior бывший föregående ก่อนหน้านี้ eski người tiền nhiệm 以前的Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
former
adj ex; — smoker ex fumador -ra mfEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.