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Meaning & use

anterior

adjective·Advancedtechnicalformal

Last updated

UK/ænˈtɪəriə/
US/ænˈtɪriər/

Meanings

  1. adjectivebefore a nounmedicalbiology

    Located at or toward the front of the body or of a part of it.

    Grammar: Usually placed before a noun: the anterior wall.

    Patterns

    • anterior to something

    The surgeon examined the anterior surface of the knee.

    An anterior view of the skull shows the eye sockets.

    The injury damaged an anterior ligament.

  2. adjectiveafter a verbformalrare

    Coming earlier in time or order than something else.

    Grammar: Often followed by to: events anterior to the war.

    Patterns

    • anterior to something

    The historian studied documents anterior to the treaty.

    Those customs are anterior to written law.

    Evidence anterior to 1900 is scarce.

Common combinations

anterior cruciate ligament
He tore his anterior cruciate ligament playing soccer.
anterior view
The diagram gives an anterior view of the chest.
anterior chamber
The anterior chamber of the eye holds clear fluid.
anterior surface
The rash spread across the anterior surface of the arm.
anterior to
The heart lies anterior to the spine.

Synonyms and how they differ

front
Front is the plain everyday word, while anterior sounds clinical and is used in anatomy.
frontal
Frontal often describes the forehead or a head-on attack, whereas anterior is a precise anatomical direction.
earlier
Earlier is used for time in general speech, but anterior in the time sense is rare and bookish.
prior
Prior stresses coming first in time and is common in legal and everyday contexts, unlike anterior.

Opposites

posterior

Word family

anteriorly adverb
toward the front
anteriority noun
the state of coming before
antero- prefix
front, as in anterolateral

Commonly confused: anterior or interior? anterior or ulterior?

anterior vs interior

Interior means inside, while anterior means at the front; the two sound alike but describe different directions.

anterior vs ulterior

Ulterior means hidden, as in an ulterior motive, and has nothing to do with position.

Practice

A doctor describing the front of the chest wall would most naturally call it the ___ chest wall.

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