antecedent

CEFRC2

/ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A thing or event that happened before another one.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Any thing that precedes another thing, especially the cause of the second thing.

Examples

  • If we alter the construction of such sentences, the missing antecedent is often restored.

  • When the antecedent is this, that, these or those it is usual to use 'which'.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. An ancestor.

  2. A word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun or other pro-form.

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Earlier, either in time or in order.

More examples

In context

  • an event antecedent to the Biblical Flood

  • an antecedent cause

  • an antecedent improbability

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The historian traced the conflict back to an blank event from a century earlier.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English antecedent, borrowed from Old French antecedent, from Latin antecēdēns (“going before”), from antecēdō (“to precede; excel; surpass”).