former

English

Alternative forms

• fmr

Etymology

From Middle English former, comparative of forme (“first”), from Old English forma (“first”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(r)mə(r)

Adjective

former (not comparable)

1. previous

   A former president.

   The former East Germany.

2. first of aforementioned two items. Used with the, often without a noun.

   The former is a good idea but the latter is not.

Synonyms

• (previous): anterior, erstwhile, previous, prior, quondam, ex-
• See also Wikisaurus:former

Antonyms

• latter

Translations

previous

Catalan: previ Croatian: prethodni (hr), bivši (hr) Czech: bývalý m. (such that it used to be) Dutch: voormalig (nl) Esperanto: antaŭa (eo) Faroese: fyrrverandi (fo) Finnish: edeltävä (fi), edellinen (fi), entinen (fi) French: précédent (fr) Georgian: წინანდელი (ka) (tsinandeli) German: ehemalig; vorig, früher Greek: πρώην (el) (próin), τέως (el) (téos) Hungarian: előző (hu), előbbi (hu), korábbi (hu), egykori (hu), hajdani (hu) Indonesian: mantan (id)

Italian: precedente (it), anteriore (it) Japanese: 前, hiragana: まえ Kurdish: Sorani: به‌رتر, پێشو Latin: anterior (la) Pashto: پخوانی (ps) (pëxwânay) Polish: były Portuguese: anterior (pt) Russian: предыдущий (ru) (predydúščij), бывший (ru) (bývšij), прежний (ru) (préžnij) Spanish: anterior (es) Telugu: ముందరి (muMdari), మునుపటి (munupaTi) Turkish: önce (tr), önceki (tr), eski (tr)

first of aforementioned two items

Dutch: deze (nl), eerstgenoemde (nl) Finnish: ensimmäinen (fi) French: premier (fr), celui-là (fr) Hungarian: előbbi (hu) Indonesian: terdahulu (id)

Japanese: 前者 (ja) Polish: pierwszy (z dwóch) Russian: первый (ru) (pérvyj) Swedish: föregående (sv) Turkish: ilk (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Vietnamese: trước, cũ, xưa, nguyên

Noun

former (plural formers)

1. Someone who forms something.

   Dave was the former of the company.

2. An object used to form something.

   The brick arch was built using a wooden former.

3. (chiefly UK, used in combinations) Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).

   Fifth-former

   Sixth-former.

Derived terms

• pan former

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: minutes · appear · thoughts · #661: former · twenty · lips · donations

Anagrams

• reform

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Danish

Noun

former c.

1. plural indefinite of form

Verb

former

1. present of forme

Verb

former or formér

1. imperative of formere

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French

Etymology

Latin formō (“I form”)

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

former

1. to form (generic sense)
2. to shape (to make into a certain shape)
3. to train; to educate

Conjugation

   Conjugation of former (see also Appendix:French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		former			avoir formé
gerund		en formant			en ayant formé
present participle		‎formant‎
past participle		‎formé‎
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
simple tenses	present	‎forme‎	‎formes‎	‎forme‎	‎formons‎	‎formez‎	‎forment‎
	imperfect	‎formais‎	‎formais‎	‎formait‎	‎formions‎	‎formiez‎	‎formaient‎
	past historic1	‎formai‎	‎formas‎	‎forma‎	‎formâmes‎	‎formâtes‎	‎formèrent‎
	future	‎formerai‎	‎formeras‎	‎formera‎	‎formerons‎	‎formerez‎	‎formeront‎
	conditional	‎formerais‎	‎formerais‎	‎formerait‎	‎formerions‎	‎formeriez‎	‎formeraient‎
compound tenses	present perfect	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior1	Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	‎forme‎	‎formes‎	‎forme‎	‎formions‎	‎formiez‎	‎forment‎
	imperfect1	‎formasse‎	‎formasses‎	‎formât‎	‎formassions‎	‎formassiez‎	‎formassent‎
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	‎forme‎	—	‎formons‎	‎formez‎	—
1literary tenses

Related terms

• formation
• forme

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Latin

Verb

former

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of formō

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Norwegian

Noun

former

1. Indefinite plural of form.

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Swedish

Noun

former

1. indefinite plural of form