antecedent
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Any thing that precedes another thing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
antehsuhduhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ænˈtɛsədənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Preceding in time or order
Earlier, either in time or in order.
Presumptive.
noun
Any thing that precedes another thing, especially the cause of the second thing.
grammar
A word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun or other pro-form.
An ancestor.
chiefly in the plural
Previous principles, conduct, history, etc.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Preceding in time or order
Used this way, antecedent is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use antecedent
- “Phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Coagulation factor whose deficiency results in a hemorrhagic tendency.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: preceding in time or order
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.