antedate
/'ænti'deit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To establish something as being earlier relative to something else: To assign a date to an event, document, or object that is earlier than the actual or accepted date.
- To be earlier in time; to go back further: To precede something in time; to exist or occur before something else.
Examples of Usage
- Verb:
- The historian discovered a letter that appeared to antedate the official declaration of war. (The historian found a letter with a date suggesting it was written before the war was officially declared.)
- Fossil evidence shows that simple life forms antedate complex ones by billions of years. (Fossil evidence proves simple life forms existed before complex ones.)
- Do not antedate the check; it is illegal to write a date earlier than today's. (It is against the law to write a date on a check that is before the current day.)
Advanced Usage
- In historical/legal contexts: Often used to describe documents, events, or artifacts that are incorrectly or purposefully dated as older than they are.
- The contract was antedated to avoid new tax regulations. (The contract was given an earlier date to circumvent recently enacted tax laws.)
- In chronological sequencing: Used to describe the order of events in time.
- The invention of the wheel antedates recorded history. (The wheel was invented before events were written down.)
Variants and Related Words
- Predate (verb): A close synonym meaning to exist or occur at an earlier date. (e.g., )
- Antecedent (noun/adjective): Something that comes before; preceding. (e.g., )
- Precede (verb): To come before in time, order, or position. (e.g., )
Synonyms
- Precede: To come before.
- Predate: To be earlier in date.
- Forego: To go before (less common in temporal contexts).
Antonyms
- Postdate: To occur or be dated at a later time.
- Follow: To come after.
Verb
- establish something as being earlier relative to something else
- be earlier in time; go back further
- Stone tools precede bronze tools