earlier in time; previously; I had known her before; as I said before; he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier; her parents had died four years earlier; I mentioned that problem earlier

[ Syn: before , before , before , before , before , before , before , before ]

comparatives of `soon or `early; Come a little sooner, if you can; came earlier than I expected

[ Syn: sooner , sooner , sooner , sooner , sooner , sooner , sooner , sooner ]

before now; why didnt you tell me in the first place?

[ Syn: in the first place , in the first place , in the beginning , in the beginning , to begin with , to begin with , originally , originally , in the first place , in the first place , in the beginning , in the beginning , to begin with , to begin with , originally , originally , in the first place , in the first place , in the beginning , in the beginning , to begin with , to begin with , originally , originally , in the first place , in the first place , in the beginning , in the beginning , to begin with , to begin with , originally , originally ]

(comparative and superlative of `early) more early than; most early; a fashion popular in earlier times; his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher; Verdis earliest and most raucous opera

[ Syn: earliest ]