preceding

adj.
Existing or coming before another or others in time, place, rank, or sequence; previous.

adjective

1. Going before: advance, antecedent, anterior, earlier, precedent, previous, prior. See precede/follow.
2. Next before the present one: foregoing, last¹, latter, previous. See near/far/distance, precede/follow.
3. Just gone by or elapsed: antecedent, anterior, earlier, foregoing, former, past, precedent, previous, prior. See time.

adj

Definition: earlier, above
Antonyms: after, below, following, later, succeeding

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IN BRIEF: Gong before.

Every generation, no matter how paltry its character, thinks itself much wiser than the one immediately preceding it, let alone those that are more remote. — Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adjective has 3 meanings:

Meaning #1: existing or coming before
  Antonym: succeeding (meaning #1)

Meaning #2: preceding in time or order
  Synonym: antecedent

Meaning #3: of a person who has held and relinquished a position or office
  Synonyms: past, retiring

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