2
general::
previous
[ only before noun ] used when talking about a person, thing, time etc before the one that you are talking about now:
• The car’s previous owner didn’t take very good care of it. • Please ignore my previous instructions. • The temperature is higher than in previous years.
last
[ only before noun ] used when talking about the one that you had just before now, or the one that existed just before now:
• The last apartment we lived in was much smaller than this one. • Ben’s last girlfriend was a teacher. • Beth broke up with her last boyfriend because he drank too much.
old
[ only before noun ] used when talking about people you knew or things you had in the past, or about things that existed in the past and have been replaced by newer things:
• I never liked my old boss. • I saw Phil with one of my old girlfriends. • The new stadium is much bigger than the old one. • He was my old maths teacher.
preceding
[ only before noun ] formal coming just before the time or thing you have just mentioned, or before the part of a book where you are now:
• There were fewer crimes compared to the preceding year. • The author dealt with this subject in the preceding chapters of the book. • In the preceding section of the poem, Whitman is talking about how important it is to live in the present.
former
[ only before noun ] formal used to describe someone or something that used to have a particular job or position but does not any more:
• her former husband • the former US President • Kyoto was the former capital of Japan.
ex-wife/boyfriend/soldier etc
someone who used to be someone’s wife, used to be a soldier etc, but is not any more:
• Her dad’s an ex-policeman. • Lydia is still friends with her ex-husband.
the one before
the person or thing that existed before the one you have just mentioned:
• I didn’t enjoy Spielberg’s last film but I thought the one before was all right. • Each year, the convention is a little larger than the one before.
Longman-Thesaurus