Word.ws English Dictionary

that was then, this is now

that was then, this is now phrase: the situation, behavior, or opinion of a person or group has changed considerably; the circumstances or characteristics of something have changed considerably.

Phrase

that was then, this is now

  1. (set phrase) The situation, behavior, or opinion of a person or group has changed considerably; the circumstances or characteristics of something have changed considerably.
    • Reminded of some of his past opinions about the coalition, he smiled and said what amounted to: That was then; this is now.1983 February 6, Joseph F. Sullivan, “Mr. Kean and the coalition”, in New York Times, retrieved 15 Jul 2018
    • Of course everyone remembers the glory days when Varsity was host to the Argos and then John Lennon and Yoko Ono – that was then, this is now.2007 February 1, Christopher Hume, “Varsity needs more than a 9 iron”, in The Star, Canada, retrieved 15 Jul 2018

Forms of that was then, this is now

alternative formthat was then and this is now
alternative formthat was then; this is now

Questions about that was then, this is now

What does that was then, this is now mean?
That was then, this is now means the situation, behavior, or opinion of a person or group has changed considerably; the circumstances or characteristics of something have changed considerably.
What part of speech is that was then, this is now?
That was then, this is now is a phrase.

Words near that was then, this is now in the dictionary

  1. that was a joke, Joyce
  2. that was it
  3. that was not the wind
  4. that was that
  5. that was then and this is now
  6. that was then, this is now
  7. that was then; this is now
  8. that way
  9. that way inclined
  10. that way madness lies
  11. that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: that was then, this is now (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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