How to Use antecedent in a Sentence
antecedent
noun-
One problem in the creation of a new East German canon was the lack of antecedents.
— Joanna Biggs, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023 -
Some of the nine songs on the recording have literary antecedents.
— Martin Johnson, WSJ, 13 Mar. 2018 -
King is well aware that the series’ antecedent is an uphill climb.
— Abraham Riesman, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2021 -
The second is is the verb for the pronoun who, whose antecedent in this sentence is people.
— Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2021 -
All this mistrust, of course, has its own origins and antecedents.
— James Poniewozik, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2020 -
The infrastructure of 5G costs far more than that of its antecedents.
— The Economist, 28 Mar. 2018 -
But our family home did have its own antecedent to the home office.
— Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein, The New Republic, 3 Aug. 2020 -
Now, with the good wishes of all estates, Mr. Rankin has completed the work of his esteemed antecedent.
— Tom Nolan, WSJ, 29 July 2022 -
But he was also steeped in its antecedents: Toho monster films, Voltron, decades of sci-fi.
— Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 22 Mar. 2018 -
In the years since the profile and the antecedent divorce, Jolie has continued to struggle to find her audience.
— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2022 -
The most important of of Smaug’s antecedents was Fafnir, a treasure-hoarding dragon from a Norse epic.
— Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 21 Sep. 2017 -
The traits that endeared him to the movement have clear historical antecedents.
— Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, 23 Feb. 2018 -
Surely the random choice was not made in zero time, without any antecedents.
— Quanta Magazine, 22 Nov. 2019 -
Yet at the same time, Lena represents a genuine antecedent to the protagonists of the mixed Asian novel.
— Vulture, 27 Sep. 2022 -
In the mid 18th century, the spire, an early antecedent of the one that collapsed last week, was removed because of wind damage.
— Klara Glowczewska, Town & Country, 19 Apr. 2019 -
But an antecedent question should be: What in the first place is causing these people to migrate thousands of miles, often at the risk of their own lives?
— Sami J. Karam, National Review, 21 Aug. 2017 -
Grimm’s female figurines have grown up, found their own voice, and are much less delicate than their antecedents.
— Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 Dec. 2017 -
Bloom’s view of the body almost as a trap, a disguise to be ravaged and riven, the better to see through it, had plenty of antecedents in European art.
— Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 31 July 2019 -
What is the antecedent to this entity that Moore, Olbermann, and Biden are referring to? Democrats?
— Isaac Schorr, National Review, 4 Mar. 2021 -
In the end, no modern politician is a perfect reincarnation of his or her antecedents.
— Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 23 Mar. 2017 -
The principal problem seems to be a deeper antecedent offense.
— Joan Biskupic, CNN, 24 Oct. 2021 -
This is the genesis and antecedent of Porsche’s historical evolution that would follow, and the oldest car to wear the Porsche name.
— Neil Vigdor, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2019 -
But Davis’ cadenza was not so much a jazz statement as a linkage between jazz and its antecedents in ancient Africa.
— Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 15 June 2018 -
The royal family disapproved of him marrying a girl whose antecedents weren’t known, and so she was chased off.
— Shalini Dore, Variety, 4 May 2023 -
Trump’s assassination of Soleimani, of course, has its own antecedents.
— Osita Nwanevu, The New Republic, 8 Jan. 2020 -
Certain conservatives posit that the lack of God in public schools is a direct antecedent to school shootings.
— Alex Siquig, GQ, 1 Mar. 2018 -
Quichotte is deranged by his constant exposure to the junk culture of today, just as his antecedent, Don Quixote, was made crazy by the junk culture of his time.
— Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 22 July 2019 -
Or perhaps a better antecedent is Woodstock ’99, the 30-year anniversary event that was the opposite of the original fest.
— Allegra Frank, Vox, 1 Aug. 2019 -
Pointing out that a problem has antecedents does not compromise its validity.
— Meghan O'Gieblyn, WIRED, 12 Oct. 2023 -
The most obvious antecedent to this fandom is the one for the Smiths, the maudlin but melodious Manchester band that broke up in 1987 but continues to enjoy a passionate following among Mexican Americans today.
— Eric Ducker, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2023
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'antecedent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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