previously
/ˈpɹivi.əsli/adverb
previously is spelled P-R-E-V-I-O-U-S-L-Y: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 68 times per million words in written English, the 1,562nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, previously means “At an earlier time; already” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in previously?
| Letters | 10: P-R-E-V-I-O-U-S-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 68 times per million words; the 1,562nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is previously?
Previously appears 68 times per million words in written English, the 1,562nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce previously?
- UK /ˈpɹiːvi.əsli/
- US /ˈpɹivi.əsli/
Previously has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-previously.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does previously mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
archaicFirst; beforehand, in advance.
- 2
At an earlier time; already.
The discovery of a previously unknown species had taken place nearly two years previously.
- 3
Recapitulating the preceding episodes of a series.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Previously in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense at an earlier time:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | autrefois, auparavant, antérieurement, précédemment |
| German | zuvor, vorher, früher, ehemals |
| Portuguese | antes, anteriormente |
| Spanish | anteriormente, previamente, con anterioridad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does previously come from?
From previous + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).