formerlyfor‧mer‧ly /ˈfɔːməli $ ˈfɔːrmərli/ ●●○ adverb 
Kiribati, formerly known as the Gilbert Islands This elegant hotel was formerly a castle.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Churkin, 43, was formerly a deputy foreign minister.
- Clark County's major employer is Navistar International, formerly International Harvester Co.
- Milligan, 43, was formerly a deputy foreign minister.
- Peru was formerly ruled by the Spanish.
- The local school was formerly a hospital.
- Watkins was formerly editor of the Express, a local weekly newspaper.
- Forty-fifth to Fifty-sixth Streets, formerly dead ends at railway yards, became thoroughfares.
- He also gathered together nearly all the drawings formerly in his father's collection in order to present them to the public.
- Linnaeus himself retained a dispersal of all species from a single mountain, formerly surrounded by sea.
- Participating mortgages, formerly thought to be unenforceable, can now be used.
- Puppies that could formerly avoid electric shocks, were unable to perform the avoidance responses after several months of isolation-rearing.
- The Triton inn was formerly a coaching inn, and is still providing meals and accommodation.
Longman Language Activatorbefore now
before now or before the time you are talking about: · I had never seen such an ugly baby before.· Wendell had never been on a plane before.the day/week/year etc before: · Sheila and I became friends in 1995, although we had actually met several years before.
: five minutes/two weeks/20 years etc ago five minutes, two weeks, twenty years etc before now: · George went out half an hour ago. Can I have him call you back?· Lucy's aunt died a few months ago.a long time ago: · "When did you live in Germany?" "Oh, it was a long time ago."ages ago spoken (=a very long time ago): · Pauline wrote to me once, but that was ages ago.
at some time, date, year etc before now or before the time you are talking about: · Didn't I give you the key earlier?earlier in the day/year etc: · I saw Barbara earlier in the day - she looked pretty upset.20 years earlier/10 minutes earlier/moments earlier etc: · Three years earlier, Miller had been happily married, with a good job.
before a time or event in the past: · Hastings previously worked for a software company in Richmond.· The bombing is being blamed on a previously unknown group of terrorists.two days/three weeks/six months etc previously: · She had met Atwood at a conference a few weeks previously.
formal during a period in the past but not now: · Milligan, 43, was formerly a deputy foreign minister.· Peru was formerly ruled by the Spanish.· Watkins was formerly editor of the Express, a local weekly newspaper.
when something happened or was true in the past but not now if someone or something used to do something, they did it for a period of time in the past, or they did it regularly in the past, but they do not do it now: · "Do you smoke?" "No, but I used to."used to do something: · We used to live in Glasgow when I was young.there used to be: · Thirty years ago, there used to be a market in the town.never used to: · It never used to rain as much as this.didn't use to do something spoken: · I was surprised to see her driving - she didn't use to.used not to do something formal: · He used not to be so critical of other people's behaviour.
during a period of time in the past but not now - use this when it is not important to say exactly when this period was: · Apparently he once worked for the FBI.· It is a big city now, but at one time the population was only 50,000.· a sports car once owned by Paul McCartney
during a particular period of time in the past - use this when you are comparing that period with the present: · I was a student in the 1950s, and things were very different then.· At that time most married women stayed at home.
use this to talk about a situation that existed before the present time but does not exist now: · In the past, most children didn't go to school at all.· Women were not allowed to vote or own property in the past.
use this to talk about a long time ago in your life, or in your parents' or grandparents' lives, when things were different: · My great grandfather earned £5 a week, which was a lot of money in those days.· In the old days there was no bridge over the river, and we crossed it by boat.in the good old days (=at a time when you think that things were better than now): · In the good old days people showed more respect to the older generation.
at a time before you were born, especially hundreds of years ago: · The children all wanted to know what life was like in the olden days.
written in the past, before the present situation existed: · The local school was formerly a hospital.· Peru was formerly ruled by the Spanish.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Kiribati, formerly known as the Gilbert IslandsCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
in earlier times SYN previously: Kiribati, formerly known as the Gilbert Islands· Only recently have workers in the formerly Communist countries started to compete with workers in the first world for jobs and wages.
VERB· TV/COM International is the company that was formerly called Oak Communications.· The first appearance a child would make after being charged would be before a youth court, formerly called a juvenile court.
· Unlike his predecessors, Norvm had managerial experience, having formerly held the reins at Railway Sidings Malmo.· The theory gained credibility when Lewis was elevated in October 1993 to president, a post formerly held by McColl.· The northern Swanwic formed a very large domain, formerly held by the wife of Hugh Fitzgrip.
· Coberley Mill, formerly known as Cubberly, nestles deep in the valley, close to the village church.· Pretty meaty stuff for an art history major who formerly knew squat about the squabble.· Crest Hotel Formerly known as the Esso, this bright modern caravanserai has all the comforts and expected facilities.· Prince, and the artist formerly known as, has long blurred the lines between divinity and getting down.
· A common thread to the sites throughout Britain, however, comes from plants originating in gardens that formerly occupied the sites.· Much of the added land will consume an area formerly occupied by the 1, 000-foot-long Fleishhacker swimming pool.· Further down is the factory formerly occupied by Bassett Lowke, the world famous model-making firm.
· She knew the château well, as her uncle and aunt had formerly owned it.· Similar fates await buildings formerly owned by the secret police, which in many districts have been inherited by the local authorities.
· Vechey's corpse lay in the centre of the tower near a rickety hut, formerly used by guards on sentry duty.
Kiribati, formerly known as the Gilbert Islands This elegant hotel was formerly a castle.