erstwhile

英 [ˈɜːstwaɪl]

美 [ˈɜːrstwaɪl]

adj.  以前的; 先前的; 过去的; 往昔的

GRE

Collins.1 / BNC.14300 / COCA.18074

牛津词典

adj.

• 以前的；先前的；过去的；往昔的
  former; that until recently was the type of person or thing described but is not any more
  1. an erstwhile opponent
     以前的对手
  2. His erstwhile friends turned against him.
     他先前的朋友转而与他作对。

柯林斯词典

• ADJ 以往的;往昔的
  You useerstwhileto describe someone that used to be the type of person indicated, but no longer is.
  1. Erstwhile workers may have become managers...
     过去的工人可能已经成了经理。
  2. He fled to America with Phyllis Burton, an erstwhile friend of his wife's.
     他和他妻子以前的一个朋友菲莉丝·伯顿一起逃往美国。

英英释义

adv

• at a previous time
  1. at one time he loved her
  2. her erstwhile writing
  3. she was a dancer once
  Synonym:onceformerlyat one timeerst

双语例句

• Be that as it may, nothing will more swiftly unite two previous foes in a common front if they are threatened by a potential enemy perceived to be more dangerous than their erstwhile opponent.
  能够迅速使敌对双方连成一气的，是当双方都感受到一个潜在敌人的威胁，而这个敌人又比它们其中任何一方更具危险性。
• Tony Blair his friend and erstwhile boss, who takes the hot seat soon will have bee watching n anxiously.
  作为他的朋友和过去的老板托尼布莱尔（TonyBlair），不久将如坐针毡，并将一直焦急地关注此事。
• Washington's crime was to assume that the Yalta agreement had fallen along with the Berlin Wall, and that the peoples and nations of the erstwhile Soviet empire should thus be free to make their own choices.
  美国政府的错误在于想当然地认为雅尔塔协定（YaltaAgreement）也伴随着柏林墙的倒塌而失效，因此昔日臣服于苏联帝国的民族和国家应该可以自由选择。
• Thanks to company shutdowns, Palo Alto the erstwhile Mecca of masculinity is now just 49 percent male.
  由于公司倒闭，帕洛阿尔托从前充满阳刚之气的圣地目前的男性人口比例仅49%。
• If policymakers leave commodities trading unattended, this erstwhile backwater could one day become a sea of economic troubles.
  如果政策制定者们对大宗商品交易放任不管，这一昔日的回水可能有朝一日会变成经济的麻烦之海。
• As France's erstwhile first lady flew to India yesterday on a humanitarian assignment, friends said she was expecting to thrash out a financial settlement with the head of state upon her return.
  这位法国的前第一夫人昨日飞往印度进行人道主义访问，她的朋友透露她一回来就要向法国总统索要分手费。
• By contrast, Britain and its erstwhile EU partners would have to decide quickly how people on the wrong side of newly erected barriers to the free movement of labour should be treated.
  相比之下，英国与之前的欧盟伙伴必须迅速作出决定，为身处因劳动力自由流动而新竖立起来的壁垒错误一边的人们应当得到怎样的待遇。
• Yet, under the pressure of the crisis itself, many erstwhile grasshopper colonies are being forced to become more ant-like.
  然而，由于危机本身的压力，许多昔日的蚱蜢窝正被迫变得更像蚂蚁。
• Like some other erstwhile true believers, he became one of most cogent critics of his former faith.
  如同昔日的某些真正信徒一样，他也成为其原有信仰最有力的批判者之一。
• Ideally, these would be people to whom you reported, but erstwhile peers and others ( satisfied clients, for example) will do in a pinch.
  理想情况下，这些人应该是你的直接上司，如果没有的话，以前的同事和其他人（比如对你很满意的客户）也凑合。