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。
• Continental Europeans want tighter constraints on the erstwhile titans of finance.
  欧洲大陆希望对昔日的金融巨擘严加约束。
• It's easy to sympathise: the erstwhile masters of the universe seem to have forgotten the meaning of both moral and hazard.
  这很容易让人同情：过去的宇宙主宰者（mastersoftheuniverse）们似乎忘记了道德和风险的涵义。
• 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。
• An erstwhile US policy maker once asked China to be a 'responsible stakeholder'.
  某位美国前高级官员曾经要求中国成为一个‘负责任的利益攸关方’。
• In1969, Frampton left the Herd to form the harder-rocking Humble Pie with erstwhile Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott.
  1969年，弗兰普顿离开了羊群，形成昔日小面主唱史蒂夫万豪越难摇摆忍辱含垢。
• 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。
• Its erstwhile parent was quick to follow China Merchants in successfully pushing for a new licence based on its history, and managed to obtain approvals for five provinces.
  它的前任母公司迅速效仿了中国商会，根据中国商会的的历史奋力为自己争取了一个新的执照，并成功取得了在五个省份的经营许可。
• He praised the prime minister for bringing Russia out of the chaos of the Boris Yeltsin years, taking a dig at his erstwhile political opponent.
  相反，他称赞普京带领俄罗斯走出了鲍里斯叶利钦（BorisYeltsin）年代的混乱，借机讽刺了一下昔日的政治对手。
• Of course, this approach assumes that you do have other erstwhile bosses and colleagues who would be happy to give you a glowing recommendation.
  当然，这种方法有一个假设的前提：你得有其他前上司和同事愿意热情洋溢地推荐你。