whilom

9 synonyms for whilom, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adv — (archaic) At an earlier time; in the past.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

before late sometimes occasionally

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

formerly

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

erstwhile intermittently irregularly sporadically

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adv

(archaic) At an earlier time; in the past.

erstwhile before formerly late

2. adv

(archaic) Now and then, occasionally.

intermittently sometimes irregularly occasionally sporadically

Etymology

Comes from Middle English whilom (“(adverb) at one time, formerly, once; once upon a time; at times, sometimes; at a future time; (conjunction) while”), and other forms, from Old English hwīlum, hwīlan, hwīlon (“at one time, once; sometimes”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlum, the dative plural of *hwīlu (“period of ti...

Full origin of whilom →

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before late sometimes occasionally formerly erstwhile irregularly intermittently sporadically

Nearby words

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