former vs latter
Definitions
adjective
- belonging to some prior time
- referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several)
- (used especially of persons) of the immediate past
- belonging to the distant past
noun
- the first of two or the first mentioned of two
Examples
Outrages like the Thomas case make it a good deal more difficult for enlightened penal reformers like the Professor to get a fair hearing when they advocate bringing back the lash.
Their dried dung is found everywhere, and is in many places the only fuel afforded by the plains; their skulls, which last longer than any other part of the animal, are among the most familiar of objects to the plainsman; their bones are in many districts so plentiful that it has become a regular industry, followed by hundreds of men (christened "bone hunters" by the frontiersmen), to go out with wagons and collect them in great numbers for the sake of the phosphates they yield; and Bad Lands, plateaus, and prairies alike, are cut up in all directions by the deep ruts which were formerly buffalo trails.
Thrice a day, the performers have been taking to the stage under the massive fireproof tents, which can accommodate up to 2,500 viewers.
Definitions
adjective
- referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
noun
- the second of two or the second mentioned of two
Examples
The ether gradually absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere, being converted into acetic acid; this, by its superior affinities, reacts on the iodide present, converting it into acetate, with liberation of hydriodic acid; while this latter, under the influence of the atmospheric oxygen, is very rapidly converted into water and iodine.
Elsewhere, it may be acceptable for shop assistants to flatter and cajole you into buying anything, irrespective of whether it suits you.
The nerves are the terminal branches of the right and left vagi, the former being distributed upon the back, and the latter upon the front part of the organ.
