antecedent
adjective
1. preceding in time or order
Similar word(s): anterior, prior, anticipatory, prevenient, preexistent, preexisting, preceding
Sentences with antecedent as an adjective:
- an event antecedent to the Biblical Flood
- an antecedent cause
- an antecedent improbability
noun
1. someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
Similar word(s): ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, root
Definition categories: person, relation, relative
2. a preceding occurrence or cause or event
Definition categories: event, cause
3. anything that precedes something similar in time
- phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience
Similar word(s): forerunner
Definition categories: link
4. the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun
Definition categories: communication, referent