antecedent
🇺🇸
/ˌæntɪˈsiːdnt/
🇬🇧
/ˌæntɪˈsiːdnt/
noun
R
Something that happens or exists before another thing, possibly influencing it.
The storm was an antecedent to the flood.
R
The people in a family who lived a long time ago.
She researched her antecedents to learn about her family history.
R
A word or phrase that a later word, especially a pronoun, refers to.
In the sentence 'He grabbed the ball and threw it in the air', 'ball' is the antecedent of 'it'.
adjective
R
Coming before in time; earlier.
The antecedent events led to the current situation.
translation
Something that happens or exists before another thing, possibly influencing it.; The people in a family who lived a long time ago.; A word or phrase that a later word, especially a pronoun, refers to.
Coming before in time; earlier.
Word Forms
Plural
antecedents