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prior

adjective · adverb · noun

Simple meaning

Coming before in order or time.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

pryer

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɹaɪɚ

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Coming before in order or time; earlier, former, previous.

  2. More important or significant.

adverb

  1. Chiefly followed by to: in advance, before, previously.

noun

  1. In an abbey, the person ranking just after the abbot, appointed as his deputy; a prior claustral.

  2. by extension

    In the rationalsphere: a belief supported by previous evidence or experience that one can use to make inferences about the future.

  3. The head of a priory ("a monastery which is usually a branch of an abbey"), or some other minor or smaller monastery; a prior conventual.

  4. The head friar of a house of friars.

  5. The head of the Arrouaisian, Augustinian, and formerly Premonstratensian religious orders.

  6. An honorary position held by a priest in some cathedrals.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Coming before in order or time; earlier, former, previous.

Used this way, prior 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

Nearby words

  • anterior , more formal, and heavier in everyday conversation

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Coming / head

prior year

Chiefly / prior

prior knowledgeprior probabilityprior experience

Other combinations

prior artprior restraintimmediately priorprior permission

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • prioritynounDerived noun · specialist

    Status established in order of importance or urgency.

  • priorynounDerived noun · specialist

    Religious residence in a monastery governed by a prior or a convent governed by a prioress.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: coming before in order or time

anteriorFormal

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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.