4somebody/something’s former selfBEFOREwhat someone or something was like before they were changed by age, illness, trouble etc 某人/某物以前的模样〔指与现在经历衰老、疾病、苦难等后对比〕
She seems more like her former self.
她似乎回到了以前的样子。
be a shadow/ghost of your former self (=be much less confident, healthy, energetic etc than you used to be) 不像以前那样,远不如以前〔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 一年级/二年级/六年级等的学生
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.这些词均表示昔日的、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former world champion.她是前世界冠军。OPPcurrent ⇨ recent, future ⇨ next■old [only before noun] used to refer to sth that has been replaced by sth else(用于指称被替代的东西)原来的,原先的◆We had more room in our old house.我们原先的房子比较宽敞。◆I met up with some old school friends.我跟几个老校友见了面。OPPnewⓘ A new person or thing is one that you have not met, had or experienced before. * new指新的、新颖的、以前未体验过的◆He's made a lot of new friends.他交了许多新朋友。◆When do you start your new job?你什么时候开始新工作?◆This is a new experience for me.这是我的一次新体验。◆Our system is probably new to you.你也许不熟悉我们的系统。■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当时(任职)的◆That decision was taken more than ten years ago by the then president.那个决定是十多年前由当时的总统作出的。OPPcurrent ⇨ recent■ex-
combining form
former前◆My ex-wife and I are not on speaking terms.我的前妻和我现在连话都不说。OPPcurrent ⇨ recent, future ⇨ nextNOTE辨析 Former or ex-?Former has a wider range of collocates than ex-.与ex-相比,former的搭配词范围更广◆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,一般用于口语中。