Basic Details
Word: Preceding
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Coming just before something in time or order.
Synonyms: previous, earlier, former
Antonyms: following, next, subsequent
Sounds like: proceeding (going on, or an event in a court case)
How to Spell Preceding
Syllables: pre - ced - ing
Tricky part: Precede drops its final e before ing, and the middle is ced, not ceed or sed.
Watch out for: preceeding, preseding, presceding
Memory tip: Treat precede like bake: bake loses its e to become baking, so precede becomes preceding.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Look at the preceding page for the answer.
Example 2: The preceding week had been the hottest of the year.
Example 3: In the preceding chapter, the hero lost his map.
Fun Fact
In book references, the short form ibid. tells the reader that a source is the same as the one in the preceding note.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word preceding as it is used in the sentence:
The answers to the preceding exercise are given at the back of the book.
a) following
b) previous
c) former
d) earlier
Show answer
a) following. Following means coming after, which reverses preceding.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to complete the word:
pre_ed_ng
a) c, i
b) s, i
c) s, e
d) c, e
Show answer
a) c, i. Precede uses a soft c, and ing replaces its final e.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. preceding 2. centurey 3. intervel 4. anniversery
a) the time between two events
b) a period of one hundred years
c) the date each year when something once happened
d) coming just before something
Show answer
d) coming just before something. Time words can trick you: interval ends in al, anniversary in ary and century has no e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In a queue, the person preceding you stands ____.
a) far away
b) in front of you
c) behind you
d) beside you
Show answer
b) in front of you
2. Which word could replace preceding in the preceding day?
a) busy
b) final
c) previous
d) next
Show answer
c) previous
