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Synonyms of formerly

29 similar words · 2 opposite words

Another word for formerly is once. Other synonyms of formerly are late, erstwhile, whilom, beforehand and before. The opposite of formerly is currently.

Synonyms and similar words for formerly

adverbPreviously; once.

at one timeFormerly.

adverbMore synonyms

already
antecedentlyAt an earlier time.
before
beforehandAt an earlier or preceding time.
erstwhileFormerly; in the past.
erstwhiles
foretimeIn former times.
in advanceBeforehand.
in the past
lateFormerly, especially in the context of service in a military unit.
onceFormerly; during some period in the past.
precedentlyBeforehand; antecedently.
previously
therebefore
whilomAt some time in the past; formerly, once upon a time.
yestertideIn times past, at a prior time; in the past.
yestertimeIn times past, at a prior time; in the past.
yet
afore archaic, dialectal
aforehand archaic, dialectalBeforehand; in advance; in anticipation.
beforetime archaicFormerly, previously.
ere obsoleteAt an earlier time.
erenow archaicBefore now; prior to this point in time.
erewhile archaic, poeticSome time ago; beforehand; formerly.
sometime obsoleteAt an unstated past or future time; once; formerly.
sometimes obsoleteOn a certain occasion in the past; once.
while obsolete
whilere archaicA while ago; a time before; formerly, previously.

Opposite of formerly

adverbMore antonyms

currentlyAt this moment, at present, now.
subsequently

Meaning of formerly

adverb At some time in the past.
adverb Previously; once.

Full definition of formerly

formerly in other languages

Questions about synonyms of formerly

What is another word for formerly?: Formerly has 29 synonyms on Word.ws, such as once, late, erstwhile, whilom, beforehand, before, already and yet.
What is the opposite of formerly?: The opposite of formerly is currently.
What does formerly mean?: Formerly means at some time in the past.

Adapted from Wiktionary: formerly (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “Synonyms of formerly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/formerly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.