What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Former vs Recent - What's the difference?

former | recent |

As adjectives the difference between former and recent

is that former is previous while recent is recent.

As a noun former

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

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 habituĂ©s, 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 ----

    recent

    English

    Adjective

    (more)
  • Having happened a short while ago.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katie L. Burke
    • , title= In the News , volume=101, issue=3, page=193, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.}}
  • Up-to-date; not old-fashioned or dated.
  • Having done something a short while ago that distinguishes them as what they are called.
    • The cause has several hundred recent donors.
    I met three recent graduates at the conference.

    Derived terms

    * recently * recent memory

    Anagrams

    * ----