Before
Before adverb - So as to precede something in order of time.
Usage example: their arrival was completely expected because a messenger had gone before
Earlier is a synonym for before in precede topic. In some cases you can use "Earlier" instead the word "Before" as an adverb or an adjective, when it comes to topics like previously, formerly, in the past. popular alternative
Earlier
Earlier adverb - So as to precede something in order of time.
Usage example: he had arrived earlier to take care of some preliminary matters
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- More accurately, she died ten years earlier, just as everyone thought- it just so happened that just before she died she was thrown into the future where she got to help save the day before being forcefully pulled back to the time of the accident.
Source: The Reveal / Video Games -
Whole Episode Flashback: Every episode opens in the bunker, minutes before the impact, before flashing back to X days earlier.
- Sam manages to kill Pea Zoup with the yo-yo he found earlier and, proclaiming he rather not have met Fiz then let him die by his hands, uses his face making abilities to go back in time to before he was abducted.
Source: Webcomic / Dumm Comics
Cite this Source
Earlier and Before. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/earlier
Before & Earlier. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/earlier>.
Earlier or Before. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/earlier.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "before" and "earlier" have occurred on timeline