antecedent
2 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
antecedents
plural
antecedents
Britannica Dictionary definition of ANTECEDENT
1
[count]
grammar
:
a word or phrase that is represented by another word (such as a pronoun)
-
“John” is the antecedent of the pronoun “him” in “Mary saw John and thanked him.”
2
[count]
formal
:
something that came before something else and may have influenced or caused it
-
The events were antecedents of/to the war. [=the events helped to cause the war]
-
the antecedents of rap music [=music that came before and influenced rap music]
3
antecedents
[plural]
formal
:
the people in a family who lived in past times
-
He is proud of his Scottish antecedents. [=(more commonly) ancestors]
2
antecedent
/ˌæntəˈsiːdənt/
adjective
2
antecedent
/ˌæntəˈsiːdənt/
adjective
Britannica Dictionary definition of ANTECEDENT
formal
:
earlier in time
-
These antecedent [=prior, previous] events affected the outcome of the war.
