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Already vs Current - What's the difference?

already | current |

As an adverb already

is prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously.

As a noun current is

the part of a fluid that moves continuously in a certain direction.

As an adjective current is

existing or occurring at the moment.

already

English

Adverb

(-)
  • Prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously.
  • {{quote-Fanny Hill, part=6 , slipping then my cloaths off, I crept under the bed-cloaths, where I found the young stripling already nestled, and the touch of his warm flesh rather pleas'd than alarm'd me.}}
  • * (Arthur Conan Doyle)
  • It was already dusk, and the lamps were just being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge, waiting for the coming of its occupant.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Welcome to the plastisphere , passage=Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.}}
  • So soon.
  • (US) Influenced by (etyl) An intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation.
  • Usage notes

    Already may be used with the present perfect (I have already done that''), the past perfect (''I had already done it by then''), the future perfect (''When you arrive, the business will already have been completed'') or the simple future (''When you arrive, the business will already be complete ).

    See also

    * yet

    Statistics

    *

    current

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The part of a fluid that moves continuously in a certain direction.
  • (electricity) The time rate of flow of electric charge.
  • :* Symbol': '''''I (inclined upper case letter "I")
  • :* Units:
  • :: SI: ampere (A)
  • :: CGS: esu/second (esu/s)
  • A tendency or a course of events.
  • Synonyms

    * (part of a fluid that moves continuously in a certain direction ): flow, stream * (time rate of flow of electric charge ): electric current * (tendency or course of events ): flow, stream, tendency

    Derived terms

    * undercurrent

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Existing or occurring at the moment.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Timothy Garton Ash)
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli , passage=Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.}}
  • Generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment.
  • * Arbuthnot
  • That there was current money in Abraham's time is past doubt.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= T time , passage=The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them
  • (obsolete) Running or moving rapidly.
  • * Gower
  • Like the current fire, that renneth / Upon a cord.
  • * Tennyson
  • To chase a creature that was current then / In these wild woods, the hart with golden horns.

    Synonyms

    * (existing or occurring at the moment ): present * (generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment ): fashionable, prevailing, prevalent, rife, up-to-date

    Antonyms

    * (existing or occurring at the moment ): future, past * (generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment ): out-of-date, unfashionable