Meaning & use
heretofore
Last updated
Up until now; before this time.
See it in a sentence
The company had heretofore relied entirely on paper records.
This is a level of transparency heretofore unseen in the industry.
A note on using this word
Heretofore is largely confined to formal, legal, or archaic writing today, having been replaced by "until now" in everyday speech.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “heretofore”, then compare your use with the examples above.