What's the difference between erstwhile and past?

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).

Past


Definition:

  • (v.) Of or pertaining to a former time or state; neither present nor future; gone by; elapsed; ended; spent; as, past troubles; past offences.
  • (n.) A former time or state; a state of things gone by.
  • (prep.) Beyond, in position, or degree; further than; beyond the reach or influence of.
  • (prep.) Beyond, in time; after; as, past the hour.
  • (prep.) Above; exceeding; more than.
  • (adv.) By; beyond; as, he ran past.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) In this study of ten consecutive patients sustaining molten metal injuries to the lower extremity who were treated with excision and grafting, treatment with compression Unna paste boot was compared with that with conventional dressing.
  • (2) Anti-corruption campaigners have already trooped past the €18.9m mansion on Rue de La Baume, bought in 2007 in the name of two Bongo children, then 13 and 16, and other relatives, in what some call Paris's "ill-gotten gains" walking tour.
  • (3) In the past, the interpretation of the medical findings was hampered by a lack of knowledge of normal anatomy and genital flora in the nonabused prepubertal child.
  • (4) A diplomatic source said the killing appeared particularly unusual because of Farooq lack of recent political activity: "He was lying low in the past two years.
  • (5) Past imaging techniques shown in the courtroom have made the conventional rules of evidence more difficult because of the different informational content and format required for presentation of these data.
  • (6) In the past 6 years 26 patients underwent operation for recurrent duodenal ulcer after what was considered to be an "adequate" initial operation.
  • (7) Over the past decade the use of monoclonal antibodies has greatly advanced our knowledge of the biological properties and heterogeneity that exist within human tumours, and in particular in lung cancer.
  • (8) He had been extremely frustrated that indicators of economic recovery over the past few days had been drowned out by the clamour over the Labour leadership.
  • (9) We reviewed our experience with femorofemoral bypass during the past 10 years to define its role relative to other methods in the treatment of aortoiliac occlusive disease.
  • (10) Gallic wine sales in the UK have been tumbling for the past 20 years, but the news that France, once the largest exporter to these shores, has slipped behind Australia, the United States, Italy and now South Africa will have producers gnawing their knuckles in frustration.
  • (11) But not only did it post a larger loss than expected, Amazon also projected 7% to 18% revenue growth over the busiest shopping period of the year, a far cry from the 20%-plus pace that had convinced investors to overlook its persistent lack of profit in the past.
  • (12) I’m hopeful but I just can’t get over all my experiences in the past.
  • (13) Significant changes have occurred within the profession of pharmacy in the past few decades which have led to loss of function, social power and status.
  • (14) Eighty interposition mesocaval shunts, using a knitted Dacron large diameter prosthesis, have been performed during the past five and one-half years.
  • (15) Although they were praised in the last five years as the most efficient drugs against cancer and infectious diseases, no great success was clinically and experimentally reported in the past.
  • (16) Over the past 20 years the rag-and-bone trade has had a makeover.
  • (17) Cameron famously broke with the past, and highlighted his green credentials, by posing with huskies on a visit to Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic in 2006.
  • (18) At first it looked as though the winger might have shown too much of the ball to the defence, yet he managed to gain a crucial last touch to nudge it past Phil Jones and into the path of Jerome, who slipped Chris Smalling’s attempt at a covering tackle and held off Michael Carrick’s challenge to place a shot past an exposed De Gea.
  • (19) They argue that the US, the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases per capita (China recently surpassed us in sheer volume), needs to lead the fight to limit carbon emissions, rather continuing to block global treaties as it has done in the past.
  • (20) Over the past decade, the quinolone antimicrobial class has enjoyed a renaissance with the emergence of the fluoroquinolone subclass.

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