as in previous
existing at an earlier time; existing before something else
The insurance does not cover preexisting medical conditions. They made changes to the preexisting law.
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Dissimilar Words
as in preceding
to go or come before in time
an advanced Mesoamerican civilization whose apex and collapse preexisted the arrival of Europeans by hundreds of years
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Recent Examples of preexisting
Tracy Achonwa, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2025
China is in a far more precarious state, mostly due to preexisting problems, but the new trade agreement is unlikely to move the dial much for either of the world’s two largest economies.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Lifestyle factors and preexisting conditions can also alter the data.
—Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 17 Oct. 2025
Unlike other genre epics like House of the Dragon or Shōgun, which are based on preexisting material, nobody knows how Stranger Things will end.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preexisting
Adjective
This serum is ideal for anyone looking to target premature and preexisting signs of skin aging.
—Tracy Achonwa, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2025
China is in a far more precarious state, mostly due to preexisting problems, but the new trade agreement is unlikely to move the dial much for either of the world’s two largest economies.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Lifestyle factors and preexisting conditions can also alter the data.
—Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 17 Oct. 2025
Unlike other genre epics like House of the Dragon or Shōgun, which are based on preexisting material, nobody knows how Stranger Things will end.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preexisting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preexisting
Adjective
-
Lakeside's previous police chief, who also served as mayor, Robert Gordanaire, was fired after he and his daughter, the town clerk, were indicted by a grand jury for selling vehicles belonging to the town and pocketing the profit.—
Brian Maass,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The previous schedule was fixed.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This is not a fundamental reassessment but a speculative rush preceding a highly dilutive financing occurrence.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Related Stories At the end, Styles finally gets some attention from a hotel employee at the previously empty front desk, and the preceding minutes are revealed to have been a fantasy, as the mystery figure walks past him, unthreateningly, in the lobby.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
That’s because precedent changes in small but important ways all the time.—
Sonja Sharp,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2025
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This adaptation demands re-conceiving large chunks of plot from the ground-up while retaining Liu’s themes, not to mention visualizing concepts with less precedent onscreen than the fantasy tropes Martin deployed and subverted.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
9 Mar. 2024
Adjective
-
These two agents appear to be the two officers identified as the shooters in an initial report by the Department of Homeland Security about the incident.—
Yahya Abou-Ghazala,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
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During an initial court appearance Thursday, a judge granted the government's request to detain Kazmierczak pending a detention hearing Tuesday.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The Oh-My-God particle first interacted with an atomic nucleus in the upper atmosphere, producing a series of daughter particles that each maintain a fraction of the original particle’s momentum, which then collide with greater and greater numbers of particles, and so on.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
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The show, clearly meant to be an appealing first exposure for K-pop outsiders, selects Top 40 hits from across the decades and pairs the original artists up with Korean idols, who transform them in ways meant to resemble the K-pop formula.—
Sheldon Pearce,
NPR,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Preexisting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preexisting. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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