Former vs. Old
Difference Between Former and Old
Formeradjective
Previous.
A former president;the former East GermanyOldadjective
Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time.
an old abandoned building;an old friendFormeradjective
First of aforementioned two items. Used with the, often without a noun.
The former is a good idea but the latter is not.I drive two vehicles, a Chevy Camaro and an AMC Gremlin. I won the former on a game show.Oldadjective
Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years.
a wrinkled old manFormernoun
Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.
Dave was the former of the company.Oldadjective
Of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life.
an old loaf of breadFormernoun
An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.
The brick arch was built using a wooden former.Oldadjective
Of an item that has been used and so is not new unused.
I find that an old toothbrush is good to clean the keyboard with.Formernoun
Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).
Oldadjective
Having existed or lived for the specified time.
How old are they? She’s five years old and he's seven. We also have a young teen and a two-year-old child.My great-grandfather lived to be a hundred and one years old.Formernoun
the first of two or the first mentioned of two;
Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the former is remembered todayOldadjective
(heading) Of an earlier time.
Formeradjective
referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several);
the novel was made into a film in 1943 and again in 1967; I prefer the former version to the latter oneOldadjective
Former, previous.
My new car is not as good as my old one.a school reunion for Old EtoniansFormeradjective
belonging to some prior time;
erstwhile friendour former glorythe once capital of the stateher quondam loverOldadjective
That is no longer in existence.
The footpath follows the route of an old railway line.Formeradjective
(used especially of persons) of the immediate past;
the former presidentour late President is still very activethe previous occupant of the White HouseOldadjective
Obsolete; out-of-date.
That is the old way of doing things; now we do it this way.Formeradjective
of the distant past;
the early inhabitants of Europeformer generationsin other timesOldadjective
Familiar.
When he got drunk and quarrelsome they just gave him the old heave-ho.Oldadjective
Tiresome.
Your constant pestering is getting old.Oldadjective
Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.
Oldadjective
A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive. (Mostly in idioms like good old, big old and little old, any old and some old.)
We're having a good old time.My next car will be a big old SUV.My wife makes the best little old apple pie in Texas.Oldadjective
(obsolete) Excessive, abundant.
Oldnoun
(with "the") People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.
A civilised society should always look after the old in the community.Oldnoun
past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')
Oldadjective
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age; especially not young; often used as a combining form to indicate an age as specified as in `a week-old baby';
an old man's eagle mindhis mother is very olda ripe old agehow old are you?Oldadjective
of long duration; not new;
old traditionold houseold wineold countryold friendshipsold moneyOldadjective
of an earlier time;
his old classmatesOldadjective
(used for emphasis) very familiar;
good old boysame old storyOldadjective
lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new;
moth-eaten theories about raceOldadjective
just preceding something else in time or order;
the previous ownermy old house was largerOldadjective
of a very early stage in development;
Old English is also called Anglo SaxonOld High German is High German from the middle of the 9th to the end of the 11th centuryOldadjective
old in experience;
an old offenderthe older soldiersOldadjective
used informally especially for emphasis;
a real honest-to-god live cowboyhad us a high old timewent upriver to look at a sure-enough fish wheel
