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Definition of antecedent:
- Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause.
- One who precedes or goes in front.
- Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability.
- That which goes before in time; that which precedes.
- The earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history.
- The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die.
- The first of the two terms of a ratio; the first or third of the four terms of a proportion. In the ratio a: b, a is the antecedent, and b the consequent.
- The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, If the earth is fixed, the sun must move.
- The noun to which a relative refers; as, in the sentence Solomon was the prince who built the temple, prince is the antecedent of who.
Synonyms:
rootage, family tree, beginning, etymon, preamble, prior, study atprevious, article, accusative, causation, stem, prevenient, ancestry, precondition, motive, etymon, forerunner, tooth root, reason, forbear, anticipatory, preexistent, adjunct, root word, branch, descendant, anterior, buildup, antecedents, source, preceding, solution, herald, cause, actor, time, allomorph, cleft sentence, radical, base, former, ascendent, author, fathers, fountain, collocate, condition, designer, spring, advance, case, power, ascendant, allophone, previous, agent, previous, preface, descent, precede, occasion, root, ancestor, theme, origin, earlier, clause, causality, creator.
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past (part of speech: noun)
- past,
- history,
- yesterday,
- yesteryear,
- yore,
- bygone days
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prelude (part of speech: noun)
- introduction,
- foregoing,
- leading,
- preceding,
- prelude,
- avant-garde
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precursor (part of speech: noun)
- foreshadower,
- avant-garde,
- pioneer,
- originator,
- forebear,
- antecessor,
- precursor,
- mother,
- predecessor,
- prototype,
- scout,
- trailblazer,
- forerunner,
- harbinger,
- founder,
- ancestor,
- precedent
Usage examples:
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Guides and travellers alike, on each occasion, were exceptional men, experienced mountaineers, who had proved their skill and courage on numerous antecedent occasions, and who were not accustomed to turn away from a thing merely because it was difficult.
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Yet, on the other hand, if there were no writers there could be no readers; so it would appear that writers must be antecedent to readers.