chronological

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparable

   Arranged according to when events happened, usually from earliest to latest.

   Grammar: Usually appears before order, list, account, or after be; not normally more chronological.

   Patterns

   • in chronological order
   • a chronological list
   • remain chronological

   Please arrange the dates in chronological order.

   The report is not chronological; it starts with the most recent scandal.

2. 2adjectivenot comparable

   Measured by actual time or age rather than by development, skill, or another standard.

   Grammar: Common before age; compare chronological age with mental age, not with older or younger.

   Patterns

   • chronological age
   • chronological sequence
   • chronological record

   Her chronological age is ten, but she reads like a teenager.

   The study compared chronological age with running speed.

Common combinations

in chronological order

The photos are arranged in chronological order.

chronological list

Make a chronological list of the committee's decisions.

chronological age

Chronological age does not always match physical fitness.

strictly chronological

The memoir is not strictly chronological.

Synonyms and how they differ

sequential

Sequential means in a sequence, which may be logical rather than strictly by time.

consecutive

Consecutive stresses items following one after another without gaps, not the full order of events.

historical

Historical means connected with the past; it does not necessarily mean arranged by date.

Opposites

Word family

chronology noun

The order of events by time, or a list showing that order.

chronologically adverb

In a time-order way.

chronicle noun

A recorded account of events in order; related by history of form.

Commonly confused: chronological or chronic?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “chronological”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words