heretofore
adverb
here·to·fore
ˈhir-tə-ˌfȯr 
ˌhir-tə-ˈfȯr
: up to this time : hitherto
heretofore unimaginable possibilities
I tell you now what we have heretofore kept secret from you—
A. C. Whitehead
A. C. Whitehead
Examples of heretofore in a Sentence
Heretofore her writing has never displayed such depth of feeling.
This technology has created heretofore unimaginable possibilities.
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the clowns, a teen-age girl waddling about in a penguin suit, produced a hula hoop, a device heretofore unknown in Al-Hol.
—Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
The unmasking of an antisemitism, cloaked in ethical superiority yet openly calling for genocide, has left young diaspora Jews betrayed, and some have embraced a feeling heretofore unknown: Zionism.
—TIME, 20 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heretofore 
Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
The unmasking of an antisemitism, cloaked in ethical superiority yet openly calling for genocide, has left young diaspora Jews betrayed, and some have embraced a feeling heretofore unknown: Zionism.
—TIME, 20 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heretofore
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heretofore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near heretofore
Cite this Entry
“Heretofore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heretofore. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
heretofore
adverb
here·to·fore
ˈhi(ə)rt-ə-ˌfō(ə)r
-ˌfȯ(ə)r;
ˌhirt-ə-ˈfō(ə)r,
-ˈfȯ(ə)r
: up to this time
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