heretofore

adverb

here·​to·​fore ˈhir-tə-ˌfȯr 

ˌhir-tə-ˈfȯr

: up to this time : hitherto

heretofore unimaginable possibilities

I tell you now what we have heretofore kept secret from you

—A. C. Whitehead

Synonyms

• hitherto
• theretofore
• yet

Examples of heretofore in a Sentence

Heretofore her writing has never displayed such depth of feeling.

This technology has created heretofore unimaginable possibilities.

Recent Examples on the Web

Its music videos, which had heretofore been so art-school obscure that MTV barely played them, were now high-budget fantasias with Stipe front and center, undulating like a Robert Longo painting come to life. —Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024

Amidst the requests for the Gucci Dionysus and the Prada Cleo was a French brand heretofore unknown to him: Polène. —Camille Freestone, refinery29.com, 2 Oct. 2024

The assignment of boarding zones, meant to quell the crowd, has heretofore been unsuccessful due to a lack of enforcement on the part of the airlines. —Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Oct. 2024

Driven by an unrelenting collapse in fertility, family structures and living arrangements heretofore imagined only in science fiction novels will become commonplace, unremarkable features of everyday life. —Nicholas Eberstadt, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

heretofore

adverb

here·​to·​fore ˈhi(ə)rt-ə-ˌfō(ə)r 

-ˌfȯ(ə)r;

ˌhirt-ə-ˈfō(ə)r,

-ˈfȯ(ə)r

: up to this time