Meaning & use
ahead of her time
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Having ideas or achievements so new that most people did not understand or accept them at the time.
Grammar: Fixed phrase after be: she was ahead of her time. Change her to his, their, etc.
Patterns
- be ahead of her time
- be years ahead of her time
- an artist/writer who was ahead of her time
The scientist was ahead of her time, and her theory was only accepted decades later.
As a designer, he was ahead of his time and few people bought his clothes at first.
The novel was ahead of its time in the way it treated ordinary working lives.
phrasefixed phrase
More advanced or modern than what is usual now.
Grammar: Often used of technology or design: the system is ahead of its time.
Patterns
- be ahead of its time
- technology ahead of its time
The phone was ahead of its time, with features that appeared years later elsewhere.
Their teaching methods were ahead of their time for that period.
Common combinations
- years ahead of her time
- Her research was years ahead of her time.
- a writer ahead of her time
- She is remembered as a writer ahead of her time.
- far ahead of his time
- His designs were far ahead of his time.
- ahead of its time
- The building was ahead of its time when it opened.
- prove to be ahead of her time
- The idea proved to be ahead of her time.
Synonyms and how they differ
- visionary
- Describes a person with bold future ideas; it is a single adjective or noun, while 'ahead of her time' is a whole phrase used after 'be'.
- pioneering
- Focuses on being first to do something, not necessarily on being misunderstood at the time.
Opposites
Commonly confused: ahead of her time or before her time?
ahead of her time vs before her time
This usually means she died or happened earlier than expected, or that something occurred too early, not that her ideas were too modern.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'ahead of her time' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom means her ideas were too modern for people then, which fits the skeptical investors. The other options use 'ahead of' to talk about arriving or finishing early, which is not this fixed expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ahead of her time”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.