previous to
Prior in time
Previous to means before in time, equivalent to "prior to": Previous to the merger, the companies were fierce competitors.
The phrase is slightly more formal than "before" and appears often in legal, academic, or business contexts.
Some consider it wordier than necessary when simple "before" would serve.
- beforehandIn advance
- in advance ofEarlier than something else
- ahead of timeBefore something is due
- earlierAt a prior time
- untilUp to when
preceding · prior · erstwhile · formerly · ere · preliminary · ahead of · preparatory · antecedent · heretofore · in advance · up to · bygone · days gone by · back in the day · eve · precursor · originally
temporal sequence
previous toafter
Following in time
following · succeeding · in the wake of · post · since