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

• 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’。
• Both are in better shape than their erstwhile rivals.
  他们的情况比以前的竞争对手都要好。
• 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。
• 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。
• 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%。
• Erstwhile workers may have become managers
  过去的工人可能已经成了经理。
• 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。
• 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。