earlier

1. （early的比较级）
   Earlier is the comparative of early.
2. ADV-COMPAR 早些时候;先前;之前
   Earlier is used to refer to a point or period in time before the present or before the one you are talking about.
   1. As mentioned earlier, the University supplements this information with an interview...
      如前所述，大学将通过面试对这一信息进行补充。
   2. Earlier, it had been hoped to use the indoor track.
      之前曾经希望能使用室内跑道。
   3. ...political reforms announced by the President earlier this year...
      总统于今年早些时候宣布的政治改革
   4. Many years earlier, Grundy had given The Beatles their first television break.
      多年以前，格伦迪给了甲壳虫乐队第一次在电视上亮相的机会。
   5. Earlier is also an adjective.
      
   6. Earlier reports of gunshots have not been substantiated.
      早先有关枪击的那些报道尚未得到证实。

1. The author has abstracted poems from earlier books.
   作者从以前的书中摘取了一些诗作。
2. Several shareholders have withdrawn earlier acceptances of the offer.
   几个股东对于先前同意的报价又反悔了。
3. The Foreign Secretary's remarks clarify an ambiguous statement issued earlier this week.
   外交大臣的话对本周较早时候发表的一份模棱两可的声明作出了澄清。
4. His eighth book came out earlier this year and was an instant best-seller
   他的第8本书在今年早些时候面世，迅速成为了畅销书。
5. I knew she had some fundamental problems in her marriage because she had confided in me a year earlier
   我知道她的婚姻存在一些根本性的问题，早在一年前她就向我倾诉过。
6. I hoped he would not connect me with that now-embarrassing review I'd written seven years earlier
   我希望他不会把我和我7年前写的那篇现在看来令人难堪的评论联系起来。
7. His comments appeared to contradict remarks made earlier in the day by the chairman
   他的意见似乎和当天早些时候主席所说的相矛盾。
8. Tim had dropped the letter in earlier.
   蒂姆早些时候把信送来了。
9. As mentioned earlier, the University supplements this information with an interview
   如前所述，大学将通过面试对这一信息进行补充。
10. Earlier, it had been hoped to use the indoor track.
    之前曾经希望能使用室内跑道。
11. Many years earlier, Grundy had given The Beatles their first television break.
    多年以前，格伦迪给了甲壳虫乐队第一次在电视上亮相的机会。
12. The first snow came a month earlier than usual.
    第一场雪比往年提早了一个月。
13. Earlier reports that troops opened fire are now being denied.
    有关军队开火的最初传闻现在遭到了否认。
14. Many phrases in the last two chapters echo earlier passages
    最后两章中的很多说法是对前面段落的呼应。
15. He returned from exile earlier this year.
    今年早些时候他流亡归来。
16. The new system went live earlier this year
    新系统在今年早些时候开始了运行。
17. This is seen as a reward for the army's loyalty during a barracks revolt earlier this month.
    此举被视为是对在本月初一场军营叛变中表现忠心不贰的军队的奖赏。
18. Earlier this month, a luncheon for former UN staff was held in Vienna.
    本月早些时候在维也纳设午宴招待了前联合国工作人员。
19. If you've read my earlier memoirs you'll know all about it
    如果你读过我早期的回忆录，就全都明白了。
20. This year's event will take place on June 19th, a week earlier than usual
    今年的活动将于6月19日举行，比往年提前一周。
21. She had earlier resigned her post as President Menem's assistant
    她早些时候辞去了梅内姆总统助理一职。
22. A few days earlier somebody had rear-ended him.
    几天之前他的车被人追尾了。
23. Some of Naomi's earlier writings have been rediscovered in the 1980s and 1990s
    娜奥米的一些早期作品在20世纪80年代和90年代被重新发掘出来。
24. He reopened ties with Moscow earlier this year
    今年早些时候他重新建立了和莫斯科的联系。
25. A major addition to the earlier revisions of the questionnaire is the job requirement exercise.
    之前对问卷的修改主要是增加了一些和工作要求有关的问题。
26. In the earlier rounds, Ferguson and Dickinson were the standouts
    在最初的几轮中，弗格森和迪金森表现突出。
27. The earlier verdict was overturned on a legal technicality.
    由于诉讼程序上的一个技术细则，原先的判决被推翻了。
28. The text varies from the earlier versions
    这一文本与较早的版本有些不同。
29. She had written him a note a couple of weeks earlier
    她几周前给他写过一个便条。

adj

1. (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than
   1. a fashion popular in earlier times
   2. his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher
   3. Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera

   Synonym:    earliest

adv

1. earlier in time
   1. I had known her before
   2. as I said before
   3. he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier
   4. her parents had died four years earlier
   5. I mentioned that problem earlier

   Synonym:    before

2. before now
   1. why didn't you tell me in the first place?

   Synonym:    in the first placein the beginningto begin withoriginally

3. comparatives of `soon' or `early'
   1. Come a little sooner, if you can
   2. came earlier than I expected

   Synonym:    sooner