pre-existing

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˌpri:ɪg'zɪstɪŋ/ 🇺🇸 /ˌpri:ɪg'zɪstɪŋ/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Already existing or present before a particular time, event, or condition; having existed previously.; Existing prior to a specified reference point, especially in legal, medical, or insurance contexts, referring to conditions, rights, or obligations that were already in place.; In philosophy or theology, referring to the state of existing before physical birth or before the creation of the world.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Collocations

pre-existing conditionpre-existing knowledgepre-existing relationshippre-existing structurepre-existing agreement

Derivatives

pre-existpre-existencepreexistentpreexist

Synonyms

priorantecedentpreexistentestablishedextant

Antonyms

newnovelsubsequent

Commonly confused

preexistent
EN: 'Preexistent' is simply the unhyphenated variant of 'pre-existing'; both are acceptable, though the hyphenated form is more common in British English.
pre-existing
EN: 'Pre-existing' is an adjective describing something that existed before; 'pre-exist' is the corresponding verb form.

Spelling tips

EN: Both 'pre-existing' (hyphenated) and 'preexisting' (closed) are accepted spellings. The hyphenated form is more common, especially in British English and in medical/legal contexts (e.g., 'pre-existing condition').

💬 Examples

  1. The insurance policy does not cover pre-existing medical conditions.

  2. The contract acknowledged the pre-existing obligations of both parties.

  3. Some ancient philosophers believed in the pre-existing soul that enters the body at birth.