4somebody/something’s former selfBEFOREwhat someone or something was like before they were changed by age, illness, trouble etc 某人/某物以前的模樣〔指與現在經歷衰老、疾病、苦難等後對比〕
She seems more like her former self.
她似乎回到了以前的樣子。
be a shadow/ghost of your former self (=be much less confident, healthy, energetic etc than you used to be) 不像以前那樣,遠不如以前〔自信、健康、有活力等〕
2.first/second/sixth etc formerBritish EnglishBrESES used in some schools to show which class a student is in, according to how many years they have been in school 一年級/二年級/六年級等的學生
Examples from the Corpus
first/second/sixth etc former• Debbie is a sixth former at Abergele High School.
Examples from the Corpus
former• Steven Soderbergh, nominated as best director for both Traffic and Erin Brockovich, won for the former.• For the former, therefore, to return among the latter was not to degrade, but to promote them.
From Longman Business Dictionary
formerfor·mer /ˈfɔːməˈfɔːrmər/adjectiveadj [only before a noun]
happening or existing in the past, but not now
the former chairman of United Telecommunications Inc
Originformer1
(1100-1200)forme“first”((12-16 centuries)), from Old Englishforma
former adj. ⇨former (my former boss)⇨previous (former glory)former
adjective
former ♦︎ old ♦︎ then ♦︎ ex-These words all describe sb/sth that used to have a particular position or status in the past.這些詞均表示昔日的、原先的。PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆sb's former / old / then / ex-partner / boyfriend / girlfriend◆sb's former / then / ex-husband / wife◆sb's former / old / then boss◆a former / an old / an ex-lover / colleague / member◆a former / an old friend / ally / enemy◆the former / then / ex-president / ambassador◆a former / an old / an ex-student◆a former / an ex-communist / king / patient / smoker◆a former / an old / an ex-colony■former [only before noun] (ratherformal) that used to have a particular position or status in the past昔日的;前◆She's the former world champion.她是前世界冠軍。OPPcurrent ⇨ recent, future ⇨ next■old [only before noun] used to refer to sth that has been replaced by sth else(用於指稱被替代的東西)原來的,原先的◆We had more room in our old house.我們原先的房子比較寬敞。◆I met up with some old school friends.我跟幾個老校友見了面。OPPnewⓘ A new person or thing is one that you have not met, had or experienced before. * new指新的、新穎的、以前未體驗過的◆He's made a lot of new friends.他交了許多新朋友。◆When do you start your new job?你什麽時候開始新工作?◆This is a new experience for me.這是我的一次新體驗。◆Our system is probably new to you.你也許不熟悉我們的系統。■then [only before noun] used to refer to sb who had a particular title or position at the time in the past that is being discussed當時(任職)的◆That decision was taken more than ten years ago by the then president.那個決定是十多年前由當時的總統作出的。OPPcurrent ⇨ recent■ex-
combining form
former前◆My ex-wife and I are not on speaking terms.我的前妻和我現在連話都不說。OPPcurrent ⇨ recent, future ⇨ nextNOTE辨析 Former or ex-?Former has a wider range of collocates than ex-.與ex-相比,former的搭配詞範圍更廣◆sb's ex-boss/friend/ally/enemyWhen ex- can be used it is less formal than former and is preferred in spoken English. * ex-不如former正式,一般用於口語中。