Noun
- 1. ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, antecedent, root, relative, relation
- usage: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
- 2. antecedent, cause
- usage: a preceding occurrence or cause or event
- 3. antecedent, forerunner, temporal relation
- usage: anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience"
- 4. antecedent, referent
- usage: the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun
Adjective
- 1. antecedent (vs. subsequent), anterior, prior(prenominal), anticipatory, prevenient, preexistent, pre-existent, preexisting, pre-existing, preceding
- usage: preceding in time or order
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