Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. In the past; at a former time; formerly.
- adj. Former: our erstwhile companions.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- At one time; formerly.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adv. Till then or now; heretofore; formerly.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. belonging to some prior time
- adv. at a previous time
Examples
“Quickly she called her erstwhile boyfriend Danny and warned him that the guy he found suspicious was now at another casino.”
“I called my erstwhile visitor and told him I was going after them.”
Will
“Definition of 'erstwhile' - I thought it meant strong and steadfast, instead it means former.”
“The scent of her hair was like a caress, but it did not recall the erstwhile pleasant memories that it should, for he frowned unobserved while he patted her shoulder soothingly.”
“Perhaps recalling erstwhile love Kitty Floyd, who broke off their engagement, he made notes on breaches of promise to marry.”
The Washington Post: Law student James Madison rediscovered through lost notes
“Considering that most of that who form the core of COPE lost elections into leadership positions of the ANC last year alongside Thabo Mbeki, ANC Chairman known for sometime now as President in the waiting Jacob Zuma labels his erstwhile comrades as sore losers and political opportunists.”
“Do you really want to call the erstwhile Toby Keith fan that now believes the war cannot be won a wimp?”
“A bitter complaint to the Directory referred to his erstwhile commander in chief as “ce petit bougre.””
“She recalled the erstwhile mutual hatred and mistrust of Murray and Darnley, and saw how it might serve her in this emergency.”
“There's another question for the season: What should Brown call the erstwhile Artest, who changed his name in September?”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘erstwhile’.
-
Words
phantasmagoria, eviscerate, avast, simulacrum, varicose, oblique, gestalt, ersatz, vernal, vivace, stellate, synecdoche and 314 more...
-
Five Consecutive Consonants
A list of words containing five consecutive consonants
I do not include words containing "y" as part of the 5-letter string, since that letter invariably functions as a vowel, as in rhythm. <...heartstricken, heartstruck, wellspring, offspring, yachtsman, worthwhile, backstretch, backstroke, downstream, downstroke, breaststroke, birthstone and 187 more...
-
Words I Used to Know
Words that make you go "I know that word...what the heck does it mean?!?
pulchritude, sanguine, trenchant, picaresque, gloaming, perfidious, confabulation, epiphany, importune, fulminate, efficacious, maladroit and 111 more...
-
Time
clock, forever, never, ever, ago, when, then, now, past, present, future, timeline and 119 more...
-
Sound Sex
taciturn, deflower, recursive, parapraxis, comitative, atelic, awkward, eccentric, libidinous, astereognosis, aloof, moonglade and 44 more...
-
Words I like
A list contrived for the sole purpose of storing words I like to include in my writing; words that inspire or carry power for me.
contrite, meadow, sward, ossary, calumny, moribund, necropolis, chthonic, murmur, erstwhile, chime, beryl and 29 more...
kirinqueen I've only seen this word used rhetorically to mean "previously mentioned." Jun 19, 2008