Heretofore

//ˌhɪətəˈfɔː// adv

adv ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    Before now, until now, up to the present time; from the beginning to this point. formal, not-comparable, temporal

    "We now make available these works which were heretofore unpublished."

  2. 2
    Previously within the present text; earlier herein. not-comparable

    "heretofore referred to as"

Adverb
  1. 1
    used in negative statement to describe a situation that has existed up to this point or up to the present time wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
hithertoherebeforeaforetimealreadyas of yetas yet

Example

More examples

"They produced a state of poverty heretofore unheard of in England."

Etymology

From Middle English heretoforn, equivalent to here (“here”) + toforn (“before”), from Old English tōforan (“before”). More at here, tofore.

More for "heretofore"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.