prior Synonyms
Another word for prior
• adjective (Context 1)
Existing or coming before in time, order, or arrangement.
"Applicants must have at least two years of previous experience in software development."
• noun (Context 2)
A previous criminal arrest or conviction on a person's legal record (informal).
"Because the defendant had no priors, the judge agreed to a lenient sentence of community service."
• adjective (Context 3)
Taking precedence in importance, urgency, or legal right.
"The senior creditor holds a superior claim on the company's liquidated assets."
• noun (Context 4)
The superior officer of a priory, or a monastic official ranking immediately below an abbot in an abbey.
"The superior welcomed the visiting scholars to the medieval monastery's library."
• noun (Context 5)
A prior probability distribution, or an existing assumption held before evaluating new evidence (in Bayesian statistics and formal reasoning).
"When new empirical evidence emerges, scientists must be willing to revise their priors."
• adjective (Context 6)
Relating to or denoting a probability distribution that represents existing beliefs before new evidence is taken into account (in Bayesian statistics).
"The researchers updated their a priori assumptions after analyzing the clinical trial data."
Opposites of prior
The opposite of prior shifts depending on context. Common opposites include: