Latter and former definition

What does latter and former mean? Former refers to the first of a set , while latter refers to the second , or last , item. They usually appear in the sentence immediately following the sequence they are describing.

When former is used in the sense of former vs. Former means being the first of two persons or things mentioned. I was accepted to Harvard and Yale for college.

The former school had cheaper tuition. See full list on writingexplained. Just as former can function as both an adjective and noun, so can latter. It comes from the comparative form of Old English laet: laetra, which meant “slower.

We went to the beach with Steve and Susie, the latter of whom would not stop complaining. You need to replace the tie-rod or the ball joint, the latter of which being more exp. You might be tempted to use former and latter with more than just two items, and although this tendency comes to the surface every now and then—even in respectable sources—it should be avoided.

There are three flavors in Neapolitan ice cream, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.

WRONG)There are much cleaner and easier ways to convey the same message without confusing people. The terms former and latter are words used to distinguish between two things. Former directs us to the first of these two things, and latter directs us to the second (or last) of them. Do not use former or latter when you are writing about more than two things. Here’s an exam­ple of how peo­ple use the two words: “I enjoy read­ing Entrepreneur and Inc, but pre­fer the lat­ter over the former.

Former” refers to the first of TWO per­sons or things. When two people, things, or groups have just been mentione you can refer to the second of them as the latter. He tracked down his cousin and uncle. There are the people who speak after they think and the people who think while they’re speaking. Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, plus related words, definitions , and antonyms.

Latter is also an adjective. Find another word for latter. The latter was as evolutionary and as revolutionary as the Home Rule Bill. The adjective former describes the first occurring event or person mentioned. In contrast, the adjective latter describes the second subsequent item for a list of two, the last item in a sequence, or the nearest occurring event from the past.

Remember that former always refers to something at an earlier or previous time or position, and latter is similar to the meaning of later. Once you know that for­mer is first, the lat­ter part is easy. This only works when there are two per­sons or things under dis­cus­sion.

The words ‘latter’ and ‘former’ are adjectives, particularly demonstrative adjectives. They are determiners used to express or identify the relative position of a noun in time and space. They refer to things that have already been named in a sentence, and they are usually used in formal language. Synonyms: last mentioned.

There are at least two different meanings given to the expression “latter and former rain” which is also translated as “early and late rain,” “first rain and the latter rain” or “autumn and spring rains. One interpretaion assumes a literal meaning and the other a spiritual meaning of the expression. Decide whether you have to use later or latter : My neighbours have a son and a daughter : the former is a teacher, the _____ is a nurse.

I will address that at a _____ time. John arrived at the party _____ than Mary did. English dictionary definition of former. A member of a school fora fifth former.

I prefer the _____ offer to the former one. Relating to or taking place in the past:. Another word for former.