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Former vs Initially - What's the difference?

former | initially |

As an adjective former

is previous.

As a noun former

is someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.

As an adverb initially is

at the beginning.

former

English

Alternative forms

* (l)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) former, comparative of . Parallel to (m) (via Latin), as comparative form from same Proto-Indo-European root. Related to (m) and (m) (thence (m)), from Proto-Germanic.

Adjective

(-)
  • Previous.
  • :
  • *
  • *:At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.
  • (senseid) First of aforementioned two items. Used with the , often without a noun.
  • :
  • Synonyms
    * (previous) anterior, erstwhile, previous, prior, quondam, ex- * See also
    Antonyms
    * latter

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.
  • Dave was the former of the company.
  • An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.
  • ''The brick arch was built using a wooden former .
  • (chiefly, British, used in combinations) Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).
  • ''Fifth-former
    Sixth-former .
    Derived terms
    * pan former

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * reform ----

    initially

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • At the beginning.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}

    Synonyms

    * at first

    Antonyms

    * finally