earlier

adjective

  1. 1

    (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early

    a fashion popular in earlier times

    his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher

adverb

  1. 1

    earlier in time; previously

    I had known her before

    as I said before

  2. 2

    before now

    why didn't you tell me in the first place?

  3. 3

    comparatives of `soon' or `early'

    Come a little sooner, if you can

    came earlier than I expected

Synonyms

Also useful for “earlier”:Unscrambler