previous /ˈpriːvijəs/ adjective Learner's definition of PREVIOUS
1
: existing or happening before the present time以往存在的；以前发生的 -
She has a child from a previous marriage.她在上一次婚姻中生过一个孩子。
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She has made previous attempts to quit smoking. [=she has tried to quit smoking before]她以前曾尝试过戒烟。
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No previous [=past] experience is necessary.不需要以往的经验。
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I can't go to the party because of a previous [=prior] engagement. [=because I agreed to be somewhere else before I knew about the party]因预先有约，我不能参加聚会了。
2
a : earlier in time or order（时间上）早先的；（顺序上）前面的 -
In previous [=past] years, we always went to the beach for vacation.过去我们总去海滩度假。
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a previous album/book [=an album/book made before the current album/book]之前的专辑/图书
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The two characters met in a previous chapter.这两个人物在上一章中见面了。
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the previous owners of the house以前的房主
b : immediately before in time or order（时间或顺序上）稍前的
previous to
somewhat formal
: before (a time, event, etc.)先于…的
— previously
adverb -
Previously, the state paid for the program.以前这个计划是国家出钱。
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The author's new book includes some previously published material.作者新书中有些先前出版过的材料。