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. WhiteheadExamples 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
Many of those receiving care live in remote villages, heretofore without access to such diagnostics and treatment.
—Robert C. Wolcott, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Sai is either working on some strategic level heretofore unseen in this or any other international edition of Survivor ever produced, or just blew her opportunity to seize control of this tribe.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
There’s weed and benzos strewn on the coffee table, Ji-Na telling Fatima to run away fast, that she can’t be fixed, implying some kind of debilitating depression or mental illness Fatima’s Korean-French girlfriend was heretofore able to keep at bay.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 May 2025
And yet the invitation to explore Surrealism without Breton has the potential to be more generative than curators have heretofore allowed (even without entering into fantasies that his adversaries beat him up and chased him out of town).
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heretofore
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Robert C. Wolcott, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Sai is either working on some strategic level heretofore unseen in this or any other international edition of Survivor ever produced, or just blew her opportunity to seize control of this tribe.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
There’s weed and benzos strewn on the coffee table, Ji-Na telling Fatima to run away fast, that she can’t be fixed, implying some kind of debilitating depression or mental illness Fatima’s Korean-French girlfriend was heretofore able to keep at bay.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 May 2025
And yet the invitation to explore Surrealism without Breton has the potential to be more generative than curators have heretofore allowed (even without entering into fantasies that his adversaries beat him up and chased him out of town).
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heretofore
Cite this Entry
“Heretofore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heretofore. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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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