1
as in ancient
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period
early birds of the Jurassic period
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unexpected
occurring before the usual or expected time
we had an early dinner so as not to miss the concert
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in immediately
before the usual or expected time
that year spring arrived early
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of early
Escher Walcott, People.com, 19 Jan. 2025
Need something easy to throw on for that early morning flight?
—Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2025
Dalia Faheid, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
With the Nuggets also defeating the Heat in Denver on Nov. 8 earlier this season, the Nuggets have now swept their two-game regular-season series against the Heat in five straight seasons.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for early 
Adjective
In recent years, Claire worked as a Globe associate and senior research fellow for early modern music at the Globe Theatre and a creative associate at the Old Vic Theatre in London, BBC News reported.
—Escher Walcott, People.com, 19 Jan. 2025
Need something easy to throw on for that early morning flight?
—Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2025
Adverb
Just five hours earlier, Bojanovic and his girlfriend had evacuated after noticing the fire inching closer, ash falling from the sky and the area beginning to fill with smoke.
—Dalia Faheid, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
With the Nuggets also defeating the Heat in Denver on Nov. 8 earlier this season, the Nuggets have now swept their two-game regular-season series against the Heat in five straight seasons.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for early
Recent Examples of Synonyms for early
Adjective
-
Designed with geometric forms that evoke the pyramids in the backdrop, the museum invites visitors to journey through ancient Egypt’s 3,000-year history, starting with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt around 3100 B.C. and ending with the Roman conquest in 30 B.C.—
Kate McMahon,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Jan. 2025
-
In it, a fantastical ancient Asian Empire is on the verge of destruction, torn apart by insidious rivalry.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Volunteer activities also can result in unexpected damage claims.—
Bob Carlson,
Forbes,
27 Jan. 2025
-
While Prince William, 42, had already been scheduled to attend in honor of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, Princess Kate’s inclusion marks a significant and unexpected addition.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
27 Jan. 2025
Adverb
-
President Donald Trump has been accused of raising prescription drug prices for seniors by immediately rescinding former President Joe Biden's executive order to lower costs after beginning his second term on Monday.—
Kristen Waggoner,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
-
Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.—
Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
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Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Adjective
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This mindset leads to frustration, doubts about program effectiveness, and premature abandonment of efforts.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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Chip Somodevilla—Bloomberg/Getty Images As the debate churns, some say any remedies remain premature.—
Philip Elliott,
TIME,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Does the music industry instantly revert to the prehistoric epoch of 2017—will Snapchat become the hottest major label scouting ground?—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
17 Jan. 2025
-
Consider Lascaux in France, which is a cave covered in prehistoric art.—
Michelle Mastro,
Architectural Digest,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But, an approach solely focused on sudden movements could lead to so many false triggers, users would likely find the option more annoying than beneficial—and that’s where machine learning, a segment of AI focused on pattern recognition, comes into play.—
Reece Rogers,
WIRED,
25 Jan. 2025
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The coastal city of Rancho Palos Verdes suffered sudden movement from a decades-old complex of slow-moving landslides last fall, twisting roads and putting multimillion-dollar homes on the brink of destruction.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN,
24 Jan. 2025
Adverb
-
After that early Heat surge, the Bucks promptly unleashed a 39-16 rampage and Miami never really recovered, ending on the wrong side of a blowout loss for the second time in a week, dropping below .500 (at 21-22) and finishing the night ninth in the East.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
24 Jan. 2025
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The company’s immediate recall of 31 million bottles and transparent communication demonstrated its commitment to public safety, and as a result, the brand promptly regained trust.—
JoAnn Yamani,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near early
Cite this Entry
“Early.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/early. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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