Synonyms for early

Most common

past · previous · old · other · first · primitive

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

Adverb

Antonyms

late, recent, middle

All antonyms of early →

Definitions

1. adj. 1

   At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.

   at eleven, we went for an early lunch; she began reading at an early age; his mother suffered an early death

2. adj. 2

   Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time.

   You're early today! I don't usually see you before nine o'clock.

3. adv. 1

   At a time before expected; sooner than usual.

   I had children too early (in life), so my first baby arrived early.

Related words

Word family

earliness earlywood

Phrases

early days early bird early riser early binding early childhood early adopter early fetal demise early innings

Example sentences

• other We helped each other to overcome the difficulties.
• past Air quality has deteriorated these past few years.
• first A pizza topped with mozzarella is my first choice.
• premature It is premature to put the plan into practice now.
• untimely Those loved by many are liable to untimely death.
• precocious You are being rather precocious.

Popularity over time

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters

new¹, old¹

4 letters

past¹, soon¹, anon²

5 letters

other², first¹

6 letters

former², timely², primal²

7 letters

forward², betimes

8 letters

previous³, untimely³, primeval³

9 letters

primitive³, premature³

10 letters

beforehand³, primordial⁴, precocious³, seasonably, forehanded

11 letters

prematurely⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (anon² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français

tôtif