previous, foregoing, preceding, prior, former

名詞 former:

1. the first of two or the first mentioned of two

形容詞 former:

1. referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
2. belonging to some prior time
   同義詞：erstwhile, old, onetime, quondam, sometime
3. (used especially of persons) of the immediate past
   同義詞：late, previous
4. belonging to the distant past
   同義詞：early, other

1. It was more in sorrow than in anger that he criticized his former colleague.
   他批評(píng)以前的同事，并非出於氣憤而是為他惋惜。
2. Jane and Mary are good friends; the former is a teacher, the latter is a nurse.
   珍和瑪麗是好朋友，前者是老師，后者是護(hù)士。
3. He is too proud now to be seen with his former friends.
   他現(xiàn)在忘乎所以了，覺(jué)得跟以前的朋友在一起有失他的臉面。
4. Of these two men, the former is dead but the latter is still alive.
   這兩個(gè)人中，前者已死，而后者仍然活著。
5. The poor girl found it hard to throw off her former boy friend.
   這可憐的女孩發(fā)覺(jué)要擺脫掉她以前的男朋友很不容易。
6. Of these alternatives, I prefer the former.
   在這兩者之間我愿選擇前者。
7. Mr. Heath is the former Prime Minister of Britain.
   希思先生是英國(guó)前任首相。

former

n.（名詞）
One that forms; a maker or creator:
創(chuàng)造者；構(gòu)成者：
例句：
a former of ideas.
想出主意者

Chiefly British A member of a school form:
【多用于英國(guó)】 學(xué)校某一年級(jí)的學(xué)生：
例句：
a fifth former.
一個(gè)五年級(jí)的學(xué)生

former
former 2

adj.（形容詞）

Occurring earlier in time.
較早發(fā)生的：在時(shí)間意義上更早發(fā)生的
Of, relating to, or taking place in the past.
過(guò)去的：過(guò)去的，與過(guò)去有關(guān)的，過(guò)去發(fā)生的
Coming before in place or order; foregoing.
在前的，處在前面的：在地點(diǎn)或計(jì)劃之前的；在前的
Being the first of two mentioned.
前者的：在兩個(gè)中先提到的
Having been in the past:
前任的：在過(guò)去當(dāng)過(guò)的：
例句：
a former ambassador.
前任外交大使

來(lái)源：
Middle English [comparative of] forme [first]
中古英語(yǔ) [] forme的比較級(jí) [第一]
from Old English forma * see per
源自 古英語(yǔ) forma *參見(jiàn) per

Grammarians have often insistedthat the phrasesthe former and the latter should be used only to refer to the first of two things and the second of two things, respectively:
語(yǔ)法家們經(jīng)常堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為，the former 和 the latter 應(yīng)該只用于分別替代兩件事中的第一件和第二件：
例句：
.But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, and the former was a lulu and the latter was a fake..
.但是，弗林領(lǐng)先于卡塞伊，就象吉米·布萊克也領(lǐng)先于卡塞伊一樣，前件事是引人注目的而后件事則是騙人的.。

It is not difficult to find examples of violations of this rule in the works of reputable writers.But the fact thatformer and latter are plainly comparatives will make many readers uneasy when the words are used in enumerations of more than two things, much as would the analagous incorrect use of a comparative in a sentencesuch asHer boys are 7, 9, and 3; only the younger was born in California.
不難發(fā)現(xiàn)有名望的作家的作品里有違背此規(guī)則的例子。但是事實(shí)是former 和 latter 僅僅是相對(duì)的，當(dāng)列舉兩個(gè)以上的詞時(shí)，許多讀音就不容易弄清了， 許多時(shí)候在比較時(shí)有可能出現(xiàn)下句里的不正確用法：如她的兒子分別是七歲、九歲和十三歲；只有最小的兒子出生在加利福尼