prior
/ˈpɹaɪ.(ə)ɹ/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.85 in modern English
Meaning
adj
More important or significant.
adj
Chiefly in prior probability: of the probability of an event: determined without knowledge of the occurrence of other events that bear on it, before additional data is collected.
adv
Chiefly followed by to: in advance, before, previously.
noun
A prior probability distribution, that is, one determined without knowledge of the occurrence of other events that bear on it, before additional data is collected.
noun
A prior probability distribution, that is, one determined without knowledge of the occurrence of other events that bear on it, before additional data is collected.
noun
A previous arrest or criminal conviction on someone's criminal record.
Canadian usage; American usage
noun
A high-ranking member of a religious house or religious order.
Example Sentences
- "His prior residence was smaller than his current one."
- "I had no prior knowledge you were coming."
- "Since therefore 'tis poſſible for all objects to become cauſes or effects to each other, it may be proper to fix ſome general rules, by vvhich vve may knovv vvhen they really are ſo. […] 2. The cauſe must be prior to the effect."
- "Lady Marney, duly warned of the impending catastrophe, was experiencing all the advantages of prior information."
- ""As these busts in the block of marble," though Miriam, "so does our individual fate exist in the limestone of time. We fancy that we carve it out; but its ultimate shape is prior to all our action.""
- "These reconstructions took place with so great ease and rapidity at Abbeville, […] that there is now scarce vestige left of any building prior to the fifteenth century."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɹaɪ.(ə)ɹ/
- British English: /ˈpɹaɪ.ə/