Meaning & use
before its time
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Happening or existing earlier than is usual or expected, especially too early to be fully appreciated.
Grammar: Used after a verb like 'be' or 'come', with a possessive pronoun that matches the subject.
Patterns
- be before its time
- be before your time
- come before its time
The film was before its time and only became popular years later.
Her ideas about renewable energy were before their time.
He felt that his music was before its time and that audiences weren't ready for it.
phrasefixed phraseeuphemistic
Happening before the usual or expected age, especially of a death or an event.
Grammar: Often used with 'die' or 'end' to mean too early, before the natural time.
Patterns
- die before one's time
- be taken before one's time
The talented musician died before his time.
She was taken before her time, and the whole community mourned.
Common combinations
- ahead of its time
- The design was ahead of its time and influenced many later products.
- before your time
- That song is before your time, but it's still great.
- die before one's time
- He died before his time, at only forty-two.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ahead of its time
- This is the opposite: it means more advanced than others at the time, not necessarily too early.
- premature
- This is an adjective meaning happening too early, often used for births or decisions; it is not a fixed phrase.
Opposites
Commonly confused: before its time or ahead of its time?
before its time vs ahead of its time
These are often confused. 'Before its time' suggests something came too early to be accepted, while 'ahead of its time' suggests it was more advanced than others and is usually positive.
Practice
The novel was ______, and critics only praised it decades later.
Choose one answer.
'Before its time' fits because it means it appeared earlier than was usual and was not appreciated then. 'Ahead of its time' is close but usually implies it was more advanced and is often positive; 'behind the times' means old-fashioned; 'in its time' means during the period when it was current.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “before its time”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.