former
gb/fˈɔɹmɚ/ us/fˈɔɹmɚ/
B1
English
~ 700
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B1
property
1
having a previous role or status
Describes a person or thing that was something before but is not now.
Usage pattern:
former [role/position/title]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'former' with 'formal'. 'Former' means 'from before', while 'formal' relates to rules or dress style.
Synonyms
previous (More general; can describe time order, not only roles or positions.)
|
ex- (Informal prefix form used before titles or roles.)
Antonyms
current (Describes someone or something holding a role or state now.)
Collocations
former president
|former employee
|former champion
|former home
|former life
Themes
time
|identity
|history
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She had coffee with a former colleague from her old company.
- The former president gave a speech at the event.
- This building was the former home of the city's mayor.
- He is a former champion who still trains young athletes.
- The museum is located in a former factory.
Learner examples
- My former teacher is now a writer.
- He is a former student of this school.
- This is my former house.
- She met her former boss yesterday.
- That shop is in a former bank building.
adjective
B2
relation
2
the first of two mentioned
Means the first of two things you talked about.
Usage pattern:
the former ... the latter
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'former' here with its meaning of 'previous'; in this context it always compares two mentioned items.
Synonyms
first-mentioned (More explicit but less common in everyday speech.)
Antonyms
latter (Refers to the second of two mentioned items.)
Collocations
the former option
|between the former and the latter
Themes
language
|comparison
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Between tea and coffee, I prefer the former.
- John and Mike arrived; the former was early, the latter was late.
- Of the two proposals, we chose the former.
Learner examples
- I like cats and dogs. I like the former more.
- We saw Paris and London. The former was sunny.
- Between blue and red, I choose the former.
Grammar
Expressions
the former ... the latter
1/ðə fˈɔɹmɚ | ðə lˈætɚ/
fixed phrase
referring to first and second mentioned
Used when talking about two things to mean the first and the second one.
Examples
- Between summer and winter, I like the former, while she prefers the latter.
- We discussed honesty and kindness; the former is more important to me, the latter to her.