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sooner
1[ soo-ner ]
adverb
- the comparative form of soon.
- within a shorter period:
That day will come sooner than you think.
- earlier:
I just wish I'd done it sooner.
- in preference to something else; more willingly or readily; rather:
We might sooner trust the wind than trust our own frail resolutions.
- more likely or easily:
It's a color you might sooner expect to find on a Lamborghini than on a BMW.
sooner
2[ soo-ner ]
noun
- a person who settles on government land before it is legally opened to settlers in order to gain the choice of location.
- a person who gains an unfair advantage by getting ahead of others.
Sooner
3[ soo-ner ]
noun
- a native or inhabitant of Oklahoma the Sooner State (used as a nickname).
sooner
/ ˈsuːnə /
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Usage
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Word History and Origins
Origin of sooner1
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Idioms and Phrases
- sooner or later, eventually:
Sooner or later his luck will run out.
- would sooner, to prefer to; to prefer that: Compare rather ( def 9 ).
I would sooner not go to their party.
I'd sooner you did the recording, as you're better at it than I am.
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Example Sentences
You will have your beloved father back sooner than you think, and you can visit and communicate with him all the while.
Women are more likely to recover sooner from birth and less likely to experience post-partum depression.
“My deepest apologies for not writing sooner,” he began his letter to her by saying.
Then as now, we all are at stake, and sooner or later, we all must make a stand.
“It took off so quickly, I had to come out sooner than I thought,” said Kallai.
I had no sooner stepped upon the frail structure when it suddenly and unaccountably gave way in the middle.
No sooner was the meeting at an end, than he left the Banking-house, and turned his steps towards home.
It was no sooner accomplished, than Ripperda was on the top of the ladder, and in a few seconds by his side.
No; they shall stay at home, and never learn anything, sooner than go and get wet.
No sooner was the ceremony over than the wicked count ordered her to present herself at the castle.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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