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happening or existing before the event or object that you are talking about 先前的；以往的 No previous experience is necessary for this job. 这一工作无需相关的经验。 🔊🔊 The car has only had one previous owner. 这辆汽车以前没换过车主。 🔊🔊 She is his daughter from a previous marriage. 她是他与前妻生的女儿。 🔊🔊 I was unable to attend because of a previous engagement. 我因有约在先，无法出席。 🔊🔊 The judge will take into consideration any previous convictions. 任何前科法官都将予以考虑。 🔊🔊 We dealt with this in a previous chapter. 我们在上一章中已对此进行了处理。 We had met on two previous occasions. 我们以前见过两次面。 Most previous studies have focused on the elderly. 以前的大多数研究都集中在老年人身上。 Today's teens are more health conscious than previous generations. 今天的青少年比前几代人更注重健康。
immediately before the time you are talking about （时间上）稍前的
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Latin praevius ‘going before’ (from prae ‘before’ + via ‘way’) + -ous.