Before
Before adverb - So as to precede something in order of time.
While ago and before are semantically related in in the past topic. In some cases you can use "While ago" instead an adverb "Before".
While ago
Mutual synonyms
Both terms in one sentence
- Speaking of TGWTG, The Nostalgia Critic's daddy left the family a while ago and is implied to have died of AIDS just before the Alaska review.
-
Leave No Survivors Lemony Narrator: The book's narrator lapses into this whenever someone's about to die or has just died.In fact, she may have been dead a while ago [before she hit the ground].
Source: Literature / Battle Royale - His Dad, who Critic still appears to have scary memories of, is implied to have left the family a while ago and it's also likely that he died before the Alaska review.
Source: Disappeared Dad
Cite this Source
While ago and Before. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/while_ago
Before & While ago. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/while_ago>.
While ago or Before. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/while_ago.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "before" and "while ago" have occurred on timeline