Earlier
Earlier adjective - (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early.
Pre-existing and earlier are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Pre-existing" instead an adjective "Earlier".
Pre-existing
Pre-existing adjective - Existing previously or before something.
Earlier and pre-existing are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Earlier" instead an adjective phrase "Pre-existing".
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- forward and earlier
- forward and pre-existing
- anterior and earlier
- anterior and pre-existing
- past and earlier
- past and pre-existing
- former and earlier
- former and pre-existing
- ahead and earlier
- ahead and pre-existing
- antecedent and earlier
- antecedent and pre-existing
- before and earlier
- before and pre-existing
Both words in one sentence
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Which doesn't even get into the pre-existing examples from earlier in the series which appear in different ways here.
Source: Literature / The Scar - Earlier still, if we count comic adaptations of pre-existing superheroes like The Shadow, Doc Savage, or The Phantom.
- However, the reality is more complex than that, as pre-existing notions of Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups did exist, and theories abound concerning migration patterns of the Tutsi and where they may have come from centuries earlier.
Source: Film / Hotel Rwanda
Cite this Source
Pre-existing and Earlier. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 02, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/earlier/pre-existing
Earlier & Pre-existing. N.p., 2016. Web. 02 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/earlier/pre-existing>.
Pre-existing or Earlier. 2016. Accessed August 02, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/earlier/pre-existing.
