anteriority

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

an•te•ri•or /ænˈtɪriɚ/   adj. 

1. located before or at the front of(opposed to posterior  ):
   the anterior fin of a fish.
2. occurring before or earlier in time;
   earlier.

an•te•ri•or•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

an•te•ri•or  (an tēr′ē ər), adj. 

1. Anatomy situated before or at the front of; fore (opposed to posterior).
2. going before in time or sequence;
   preceding;
   earlier:
   events anterior to the outbreak of war.
3. Phonetics, Linguistics [Ling.] (in distinctive feature analysis) articulated in the region extending from the alveolar ridge to the lips;
   alveolar, dental, or labial.
4. Anatomy (in animals and embryos) pertaining to or toward the head or forward end of the body.
5. Anatomy (in humans) pertaining to or toward the front plane of the body, equivalent to the ventral surface of quadrupeds.
6. Plant Biology [Bot.] on the front side and away from the main axis, as the lower lip of a flower.

• Latin, comparative of ante before, formed on model of posterior
• 1535–45

an•te•ri•or•i•ty  (an tēr′ē ôr′i tē, -or′-), n.  an•te′ri•or•ly, adv.