| dictionary | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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| Sounds | er'liy |
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| Rhymes | ably, abnormally, abruptly, and 1495 more rhymes in liy at the HyperDic website... |
| Meaning | At or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time. |
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| Examples | "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" |
| Attribute of | timing |
| Similar | aboriginal, primal, primeval, primaeval, primordial; advance, beforehand; archean, archaean; archeozoic, archaeozoic; azoic; earlier, earliest; earlyish; matutinal; premature, untimely; previous, premature; proterozoic; proto; wee |
| See also | first |
| Contrary | middle; late |
| Meaning | Being or occurring at an early stage of development. |
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| Examples | "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer" |
| Similar | archaic, primitive; new, young; crude, primitive, rude; embryonic, embryotic; incipient, inchoate; precocious |
| Contrary | late, later |
| Meaning | Of the distant past. |
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| Examples | "the early inhabitants of Europe" |
| Synonyms | former, other |
| Similar to | past |
| Meaning | Very young. |
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| Examples | "at an early age" |
| Similar to | young, immature |
| Meaning | Of an early stage in the development of a language or literature. |
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| Examples | "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" |
| Category | linguistics |
| Similar | Old |
| Contrary | middle; late |
| Meaning | Expected in the near future. |
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| Examples | "look for an early end to the negotiations" |
| Similar to | future |
| Meaning | During an early stage. |
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| Examples | "early on in her career" |
| Synonyms | early on |
| Meaning | Before the usual time or the time expected. |
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| Examples | "she graduated early" |
| Synonyms | ahead of time, too soon |
| Contrary | late, belatedly, tardily |
| Meaning | In good time. |
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| Synonyms | betimes |