An antecedent of something happened or existed before it and was similar to it in some way.
[formal]
We shall first look briefly at the historical antecedents of this theory.
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
An antecedent thing or event happened or existed before another related thing or event.
[formal]
It was permissible to take account of antecedent legislation.
Synonyms: preceding, earlier, former, previous More Synonyms of antecedent
3. countable noun [usually plural]
Your antecedents are your ancestors.
[formal]
...a Frenchman with Irish antecedents.
More Synonyms of antecedent
English Easy Learning GrammarRelative clausesRelative clauses tell us more about nouns. They function rather like adjectives, andare found as postmodifiers in a noun phrase. The noun that is modified ... Read more
antecedent in British English
(ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt)
noun
1.
an event, circumstance, etc, that happens before another
2. grammar
a word or phrase to which a pronoun refers. In the sentence "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," people is the antecedent of who
3. logic
the hypothetical clause, usually introduced by "if", in a conditional statement: that which implies the other
4. mathematics an obsolescent name for numerator (sense 1)
5. denying the antecedent
adjective
6.
preceding in time or order; prior
antecedent in American English
(ˌæntəˈsidənt)
adjective
1.
going or coming before in time, order, or logic; prior; previous; preceding
noun
2.
any happening or thing prior to another
3.
anything logically preceding
4. [pl.]
one's ancestry, past life, training, etc.
5. Grammar
the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers
“man” is the antecedent of “who” in “the man who spoke”
6. Logic
the part of a conditional proposition that states the condition
7. Ancient Mathematics
the first term or numerator of a ratio
see also consequent
SIMILAR WORDS: cause, ˈprevious
Derived forms
antecedently (ˌanteˈcedently)
adverb
Word origin
ME & OFr < L antecedens, prp. of antecedere, antecede
Examples of 'antecedent' in a sentence
antecedent
Others do not list an I-950 unit in times antecedent to this at all.
S.M. Stirling T2: INFILTRATOR (2001)
(adjective)
Definition
preceding in time or order
They were allowed to take account of antecedent legislation.
Synonyms
preceding
Please refer back to the preceding chapter.
earlier
Earlier reports of a second referendum have not been confirmed.
former
I learned from my former boss that it was fun to work.
previous
They had brought their furniture from their previous house.
prior
He claimed he had no prior knowledge of the protest.
preliminary
Preliminary talks began yesterday.
foregoing
The foregoing discussion has highlighted the difficulties.
anterior
memories of our anterior existences
precursory
Opposites
later
,
following
,
succeeding
,
subsequent
,
successive
,
ensuing
,
consequent
,
after
,
posterior
1 (plural noun)
Definition
a person's ancestors and past history
a Frenchman with Irish antecedents
Synonyms
ancestors
family
line
stock
blood
descent
extraction
ancestry
forebears
forefathers
genealogy
progenitors
tupuna or tipuna (New Zealand)
2 (plural noun)
Definition
a person's ancestors and past history
a series of conditions or antecedents which may have contributed to the situation
Synonyms
past
history
background
Additional synonyms
in the sense of anterior
Definition
earlier
memories of our anterior existences
Synonyms
earlier,
former,
previous,
prior,
preceding,
introductory,
foregoing,
antecedent
in the sense of earlier
Earlier reports of a second referendum have not been confirmed.
Synonyms
previous,
former,
past,
prior,
preceding
in the sense of foregoing
Definition
(esp. of writing or speech) going before
The foregoing discussion has highlighted the difficulties.