preexisting

adjective

pre·​ex·​ist·​ing ˌprē-ig-ˈzi-stiŋ 

: existing at an earlier time

a preexisting medical condition

Examples of preexisting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But his argument isn’t supposed to make sense; Vance is asserting his freedom from the need to justify the administration’s actions according to preexisting standards. —Michelle Goldberg, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2025

Officials urged vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly and those with preexisting respiratory conditions, to take precautions. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025

Preexisting Condition Calculations The idea that 100 million Americans are living with one or more preexisting conditions is not new. —Tribune News Service, Boston Herald, 19 June 2024

Others who are at risk include people with preexisting vascular conditions, the homeless and the elderly. —Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preexisting

• coexisting
• unresisting
• assisting
• blacklisting
• consisting
• delisting
• enlisting
• existing
• insisting
• persisting
• resisting
• subsisting

Medical Definition

preexisting

adjective

pre·​ex·​ist·​ing ˌprē-ig-ˈzi-stiŋ 

variants or pre-existing

: existing or present earlier or before a certain point of time

In 1990, over 60 percent of group health insurance plans contained exclusions of coverage for preexisting conditions, signifying the denial of benefits for any illness present at the time the insurance is obtained.

—Thomas Bodenheimer, in The New England Journal of Medicine