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auparavant

beforehand, previously

adverb oh-pah-rah-VAHN Less Common

Usage Note

Auparavant is a formal or literary adverb meaning 'before' in a temporal sequence, equivalent to avant but more emphatic. It typically appears sentence-initially or after a verb when contrasting an earlier moment with a later one. It is not used as a preposition — avant fills that role.

Examples

"Il faut réserver auparavant."

Natural Translation

You need to book beforehand.

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