formerly

adverb

for·​mer·​ly ˈfȯr-mər-lē 

ˈfȯr-mə-

1

: at an earlier time : previously

2

obsolete : just before

Synonyms

• erstwhile
• once
• onetime

Examples of formerly in a Sentence

He was formerly a congressman.

the newspaper formerly known as “The Newsprint”

Recent Examples on the Web

This is, as its name would suggest, the second car from Polestar, formerly Volvo’s performance division – a bit like AMG is to Mercedes – but now a sister brand that, like Volvo, is owned by Chinese automotive giant Geely. —Alistair Charlton, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025

What To Know In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Penny is seen riding the subway. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025

Giannoulias is teaming with AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, to change state law which now requires seniors to take road tests beginning at age 79. —Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 17 Jan. 2025

The thriller, formerly known as Paradise City, was written by Fogelman. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

formerly

adverb

for·​mer·​ly ˈfȯr-mər-lē 

: at an earlier time : previously