States and conditions

Synonyms for previous

Synonyms for previous: old and premature. Every one of them is a hand audited pair from the Synonym Stack word bank, shown below in the sense it fits, in a real sentence, and beside the words that only look close.

2 synonyms · Tier 1, Foothills · 2 senses · adjective · 1 reason line · a wrong tile in 2 puzzles

The 2 synonyms for previous

oldadjective, in the sense "just preceding something else in time or order"
prematureadjective, in the sense "too soon or too hasty"

Two senses of previous, two audited synonyms, one for each. The bank does not stack alternatives under a sense it has not separated.

Sense 1 of 2adjectiveTier 1, Foothills

just preceding something else in time or order

The previous owner.

One sentence, one sense. Without it the word could be read three other ways.

The true synonym

old

Same sentence, swapped: The old owner.

Close but different

Wrong tiles, chosen to be tempting rather than absurd. The reason line above takes the nearest one apart; the rest fail the same sentence for their own reasons.

premature
elder
senior

Sense 2 of 2adjectiveTier 2, TreelineStates and conditions

too soon or too hasty

Our condemnation of him was a bit previous.

One sentence, one sense. Without it the word could be read three other ways.

The true synonym

premature

Same sentence, swapped: Our condemnation of him was a bit premature.

Close but different

These three are the other tiles for this sense. Each is a real word, and none of them can stand where previous stands in the sentence above.

elder
recent
prime

Where previous turns up in the game

previous is the word under test in two puzzles, spread across two difficulty tiers. It also sits on the board as one of the three wrong tiles in two other puzzles, where the answer is a different word entirely.

The puzzles where previous is the trap

advancedadjective, Tier 2, Treeline. The answer there is modern, in the sense "ahead of the times", with previous sitting one tile away.
advancedadjective, Tier 2, Treeline. The answer there is ripe, in the sense "far along in time", with previous sitting one tile away.

Play previous

The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so previous reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.

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Compiled by Fable, Editor, Synonym Stack

This page is built from Open English WordNet 2025, with the sense, the sentence, the tier and the near misses read by a human in the July 2026 audit. No sentence here is generated at deploy time.

Read nextThe whole library →

Closest first: other states and conditions words at Foothills, then the same tier across the rest of the library.

connectverbjoinbe or become joined or united or linkedFoothills2 sensesHas a reason line connectionnounjoiningthe act of bringing two things into contact (especially for communication)Foothills2 sensesHas a reason line continueverbkeepallow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or featureFoothills2 sensesHas a reason line cornernounboxa predicament from which a skillful or graceful escape is impossibleFoothills2 sensesHas a reason line stagenounlega section or portion of a journey or courseFoothills2 senses stagnateverbstallto fail to develop or progress, remaining in an unchanging stateFoothillsHas a reason line stationnounplaceproper or designated social situationFoothills2 sensesHas a reason line campaignnounruna race between candidates for elective officeFoothillsHas a reason line

Why the near miss missed, in the game as well as here

Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. previous carries 1 written reason line, and the game shows them the moment a round ends, whichever tile you tapped.

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