Early and Preceding

Early

Early adjective - Relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period.

Preceding and early are semantically related in foregoing topic. In some cases you can use "Preceding" instead the word "Early" as an adjective or an adverb, when it comes to topics like in the beginning, sooner than expected.

Preceding

Preceding adjective - Going before another in time or order.
Usage example: had not eaten since the preceding day

Early and preceding are semantically related in foregoing topic. Sometimes you can use "Early" instead the word "Preceding" as an adjective or an adverb.

Both words in one sentence

  • Wrestling / The Wyatt Family At some point in early 2014, Bray started preceding his "We're here" Catch Phrase with the name of whatever city they were in for the episode.
  • Literature / Evensong Time Skip: Between this book, the preceding volume, and the succeeding volume; and in a early chapters within the book.
  • The Fifth and Sixth Doctors had increasingly dark and convoluted stories involving parallel universes, and the Sixth Doctor in particular was batshit insane and more violent than most preceding doctors (perhaps except for some of the early stories with the First Doctor).
Cite this Source
Preceding and Early. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/early/preceding
Early & Preceding. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/early/preceding>.
Preceding or Early. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/early/preceding.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "early" and "preceding" have occurred on timeline