Earliest
Earliest adjective - Coming before all others in time or order.
Usage example: the earliest computers were massive machines that practically filled up a room
Previous
Previous adjective - Going before another in time or order.
Usage example: the previous math problem also included a reference to store discounts
Earliest and previous are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Earliest" instead an adjective "Previous".
Nearby Word: previously
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
Both words in one sentence
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His earliest memory is of the horribly painful ritual that gave him the ability to phase through objects and erased his previous memories.
Source: Identity Amnesia - In the earliest games, a sound bite from one of the developers' previous games, The Vampire Diaries, was included but not used in the game.
Source: Informing the Fourth Wall -
Kaiju: Definitely, as Kong himself is one of the earliest examples in the genre but, as stated above, he's much bigger than any previous American incarnation.
Source: Film / Skull Island
Cite this Source
Previous and Earliest. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/earliest/previous
Earliest & Previous. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/earliest/previous>.
Previous or Earliest. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/earliest/previous.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "earliest" and "previous" have occurred on timeline