erstwhile

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Compare that to the strapline you’d have to write for the erstwhile VW ID.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

The erstwhile interim U.S. attorney, then, is in a pickle of his own making.

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2026

By the early aughts, erstwhile edgy rock stars like Courtney Love and Nina Gordon swapped their torn fishnets and rumpled slip dresses for French manicures and blown-out coifs.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026

He suggests that if the tech sector does start to meaningfully falter this may deliver a psychological shift among investors whereby the erstwhile winners are given the losers tag.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 2, 2026

A hundred years before Columbus, Meggers told me, they were blasted by a mega-Nino and then overrun by one of their erstwhile inferiors.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann