erstwhile UK /ˈɜː(ɹ)st.waɪl/US /ˈɝst.waɪl/adjective 2adverb 1 adjective2 •(literary) Former, previous.“Scarcely had Alice reached her twentieth birthday, than she gave her erstwhile fiancée^([sic]) his formal congé.[…]” — 1904 •(nonstandard) Respected, honourable.If you're for one of my erstwhile opponents, that's O.K. Just don't work too hard. — 1999 adverb1 •(formal, literary) Formerly; in the past.
