early
1. at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time (Freq. 79)
- early morning
- an early warning
- early diagnosis
- an early death
- took early retirement
- an early spring
- early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties
• Ant:
middle, late
• Similar to:
aboriginal, primal, primeval, primaeval, primordial,
advance, beforehand, archean, archaean, archeozoic, archaeozoic,
azoic, earlier, earliest, earlyish, premature, untimely,
previous, proterozoic, proto, wee
• See Also:
first
• Derivationally related forms:
earliness
• Attrubites:
timing
2. being or occurring at an early stage of development (Freq. 22)
- in an early stage
- early forms of life
- early man
- an early computer
• Ant:
late
• Similar to:
archaic, primitive, new, young, crude,
rude, embryonic, embryotic, incipient, inchoate, precocious
• Derivationally related forms:
earliness
3. belonging to the distant past (Freq. 10)
- the early inhabitants of Europe
- former generations
- in other times
• Syn:
former, other
• Similar to:
past
4. very young (Freq. 6)
- at an early age
• Similar to:
young, immature
5. of an early stage in the development of a language or literature (Freq. 2)
- the Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C.
- Early Modern English is represented in documents printed from 1476 to 1700
• Ant:
middle, late
• Similar to:
Old
• Derivationally related forms:
earliness
• Topics:
linguistics
6. expected in the near future
- look for an early end to the negotiations
• Similar to:
future
1. during an early stage (Freq. 19)
- early on in her career
• Syn:
early on
2. before the usual time or the time expected (Freq. 6)
- she graduated early
- the house was completed ahead of time
• Syn:
ahead of time, too soon
• Ant:
late
3. in good time (Freq. 1)
- he awoke betimes that morning
• Syn:
betimes
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