previous

1. 1.

   just preceding something else in time or order

   “the previous owner”

   “my old house was larger”

   Synonymsold

   Similarpreceding
2. 2.

   (used especially of persons) of the immediate past

   “the former president”

   “our late President is still very active”

   “the previous occupant of the White House”

   Synonymsformerlate

   Similarpast
3. 3.

   too soon or too hasty

   “our condemnation of him was a bit previous”

   “a premature judgment”

   Synonymspremature

   Similarearly

Questions about previous

What does previous mean?

previous means "just preceding something else in time or order". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in previous?

previous has 3 syllables: pre-vi-ous. The stress falls on "pre". In IPA it is /ˈpɹiviəs/.

What is another word for previous?

Close synonyms include old, former, late, premature. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is previous a common word?

previous is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.