Open English Wordnet
Adjectives
(s)earlier, earliest(comparative and superlative of ‘early’) more early than; most early“a fashion popular in earlier times”,
“his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher”,
“Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera” Adverbs
(r)earlier, beforeearlier in time; previously“I had known her before”,
“as I said before”,
“he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier”,
“her parents had died four years earlier”,
“I mentioned that problem earlier” (r)sooner, earliercomparatives of ‘soon’ or ‘early’“Come a little sooner, if you can”,
“came earlier than I expected”