What's the difference between erstwhile and old?

Erstwhile


Definition:

  • (adv.) Till then or now; heretofore; formerly.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Alex Turner has already set about ingratiating himself with the 2013 festival by guesting with his erstwhile partner in the Last Shadow Puppets, Miles Kane, earlier this afternoon, but as he takes to the Pyramid Stage for the Monkeys' headline slot, piling straight into the bluesy electronic throbs of new single Do I Wanna Know in a sharp striped suit and teddy quiff and throwing the odd karate beckoning motion, there's a real sense of points to be proved.
  • (2) It's as well to be aware of the beckoning avenues of justification that are drawing in so many of our erstwhile comrades.
  • (3) That seemed not to worry Unite's Len McCluskey, his erstwhile blustery critic, who sent out paeans of reckless praise: "This is a tour de force … the best speech from a Labour leader I have heard."
  • (4) Appropriately for a presenter steeped in statistics, the BBC's erstwhile economics editor drew up a cost-benefit analysis weighing up the pros and cons of replacing Jeremy Paxman as Newsnight's lead anchor, to little effect.
  • (5) The erstwhile envoy caused ructions earlier this week when he declared in an interview with the New York Times that Greece's IMF-dicated fiscal adjustment program was doomed to failure.
  • (6) It was all very well for erstwhile broadsheet newspaper readers to jeer "Who cares?"
  • (7) When George Robertson, erstwhile secretary general of Nato, used a New York speech to warn of the "cataclysmic" effects of a yes vote, suggesting it would be an early Christmas present for global terrorists, even close colleagues had to avert their ears.
  • (8) Blackout will be organising grassroots events, nationwide, for people to come out and show their solidarity in the fight for equal human rights.” Backers include Fruitvale Station actor Michael B Jordan, Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham, hiphop mogul Russell Simmons and erstwhile Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
  • (9) He has also covered an old Scottish folk song, 'Hymn Of The Whale', as well as a fearsome semi-industrial track in the company of the erstwhile drummer from Nine Inch Nails.
  • (10) But if he can roll out enough insults to Democrats and pal around with more conventional Tea Party heroes such as Steve Lonegan (the erstwhile GOP NJ senate candidate), Christie could convince the conservative base he has their best interests at his large heart.
  • (11) If its officials have been more visible it is a function of the fact that many, including Koussa and his erstwhile deputy, Khaled Kaim, have more experience in dealing with the west.
  • (12) For the erstwhile parliamentarian, who has had more time on his hands since losing his Morley and Outwood seat at the general election in May, it is an opportunity to indulge a passion for the club he has harboured since he was a small boy.
  • (13) Earlier this month, the Kabul-based military command, under marine general Joseph Dunford, sharply rebuked its erstwhile Afghanistan partners for releasing 65 detainees it said had US and Afghan blood on their hands.
  • (14) Archer's creepy Pecksniffian pals If there's one thing worse than Jeffrey Archer, it is the erstwhile friends of Jeffrey Archer.
  • (15) Moreover, after what’s sure to be millions of people who were otherwise not very engaged in the topic of internet security go ahead and read Zuckerberg’s post, they may care just a bit more about what’s being done to us all by our erstwhile protectors – not just by the criminals.
  • (16) Although still stunned by the Fifa president’s resignation, Dyke thinks he can explain it, starting with the allegations of a bribe to erstwhile Fifa official Jack Warner.
  • (17) For more than two weeks, his erstwhile deputies claimed Mehsud was ill while they arranged his succession.
  • (18) Harassed western alliance seeks erstwhile head of Taliban administration.
  • (19) That is our project, and we are getting there.” Manchester United reverted to the three-centre-back system they started out with under Louis van Gaal for their visit to the erstwhile league leaders, partly out of respect for Vardy’s hot streak but also because Marcos Rojo had to pull out injured.
  • (20) The successful cloning of a non-structural antigen from the genome of what is now designated as the 'hepatitis C virus' (HCV) has transformed an erstwhile diagnosis of exclusion for non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH).

Old


Definition:

  • (n.) Open country.
  • (superl.) Not young; advanced far in years or life; having lived till toward the end of the ordinary term of living; as, an old man; an old age; an old horse; an old tree.
  • (superl.) Not new or fresh; not recently made or produced; having existed for a long time; as, old wine; an old friendship.
  • (superl.) Formerly existing; ancient; not modern; preceding; original; as, an old law; an old custom; an old promise.
  • (superl.) Continued in life; advanced in the course of existence; having (a certain) length of existence; -- designating the age of a person or thing; as, an infant a few hours old; a cathedral centuries old.
  • (superl.) Long practiced; hence, skilled; experienced; cunning; as, an old offender; old in vice.
  • (superl.) Long cultivated; as, an old farm; old land, as opposed to new land, that is, to land lately cleared.
  • (superl.) Worn out; weakened or exhausted by use; past usefulness; as, old shoes; old clothes.
  • (superl.) More than enough; abundant.
  • (superl.) Aged; antiquated; hence, wanting in the mental vigor or other qualities belonging to youth; -- used disparagingly as a term of reproach.
  • (superl.) Old-fashioned; wonted; customary; as of old; as, the good old times; hence, colloquially, gay; jolly.
  • (superl.) Used colloquially as a term of cordiality and familiarity.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) A 2.5-month-old child with cyanotic heart disease who required long-term PGE1 infusions; developed widespread periosteal reactions during the course of therapy.
  • (2) Yet the Tory promise of fiscal rectitude prevailed in England Alexander had been in charge of Labour’s election strategy, but he could not strategise a victory over a 20-year-old Scottish nationalist who has not yet taken her finals.
  • (3) A 61-year-old man experienced four bouts of pancreatitis in 1 year.
  • (4) A total of 104 evaluable patients 20-90 years old treated by direct vision internal urethrotomy a.m. Sachse for urethral strictures reported retrospectively via a questionnaire their sexual potency before and after internal urethrotomy.
  • (5) A 66-year-old woman with acute idiopathic polyneuritis (Landry-Guillain-Barré [LGB] syndrome) had normal extraocular movements, but her pupils did not react to light or accommodation.
  • (6) Scatchard analyses of binding data obtained with synaptosomal preparations from 17-day-old embryos revealed two T3 binding sites.
  • (7) A remarkable deterioration of prognosis with increasing age rises the question whether treatment with cytotoxic drugs should be tried in patients more than 60 years old.
  • (8) A specimen of a very early ovum, 4 to 6 days old, shown in the luminal form of imbedding before any hemorrhage has taken place, confirms that the luminal form of imbedding does occur.
  • (9) Data collection at the old hospital for comparison, however, was not always reliable.
  • (10) A leg ulcer in a 52-year-old renal transplant patient yielded foamy histiocytes containing acid-fast bacilli subsequently identified as a Runyon group III Mycobacterium.
  • (11) The 36-year-old teacher at an inner-city London primary school earns £40,000 a year and contributes £216 a month to her pension.
  • (12) Eight-week-old virgin untreated female mice were induced to ovulate using equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and were then caged with males overnight.
  • (13) The authors report an ocular luxation of a four-year-old girl after a bicycle accident.
  • (14) Peak incidence is found among 40 to 49-year-old and 60 to 64-year-old women.
  • (15) The capillary-adipocyte distances were shorter and the vascularization density was higher in old rats.
  • (16) Brilliant, old-fashioned speech, from the days before teleprompters became all-dominant.
  • (17) Though the 54-year-old designer made brief returns to the limelight after his fall from grace, designing a one-off collection for Oscar de la Renta last year , his appointment at Margiela marks a more permanent comeback.
  • (18) He also deals with the incidence, conservative and surgical treatment of osteo-arthrosis in old age and with the possibilities of its prevention.
  • (19) Sterile, pruritic papules and papulopustules that formed annular rings developed on the back of a 58-year-old woman.
  • (20) The first patient, an 82-year-old woman, developed a WPW syndrome suggesting posterior right ventricular preexcitation, a pattern which persisted for four months until her death.

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