Meaning & use
erstwhile
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounliterary
Having been something in the past but no longer so.
Grammar: Always goes before a noun: my erstwhile friend.
His erstwhile partners now compete against him.
The erstwhile champion lost in the first round.
She met her erstwhile classmates at the reunion.
adverbnot comparablearchaic
At an earlier time; formerly.
Grammar: Rare and old-fashioned; the adjective is far more usual.
The castle erstwhile belonged to a duke.
He was erstwhile known as the best singer in town.
Common combinations
- erstwhile friend
- My erstwhile friend never replied to my message.
- erstwhile rival
- The erstwhile rival joined the team.
- erstwhile champion
- The erstwhile champion signed autographs.
- erstwhile colleague
- She wrote to an erstwhile colleague about the job.
Synonyms and how they differ
- former
- Former is the neutral everyday word and lacks the slight irony erstwhile can carry.
- onetime
- Onetime is similar but a little more casual.
- ex-
- Ex- is a prefix used in compounds such as ex-wife and sounds informal.
- previous
- Previous means just before in a sequence, not necessarily no longer in a role.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: erstwhile or worthwhile?
erstwhile vs worthwhile
Worthwhile means worth the effort and shares only the ending with erstwhile.
Practice
Her ___ business partner now runs a rival firm.
Choose one answer.
Erstwhile means former, matching the idea that the partnership ended. Prospective and upcoming refer to the future, and ongoing means continuing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “erstwhile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.