The difference between Former and Old

When used as nouns, former means someone who forms something, whereas old means people who are old.

When used as adjectives, former means previous, whereas old means of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years. of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life.

check bellow for the other definitions of Former and Old

  1. Former as an adjective:

    Previous.

    Examples:

    "A former president;  the former East Germany"

  2. Former as an adjective:

    First of aforementioned two items. Used with , often without a noun.

    Examples:

    "The former is a good idea but the latter is not."

    "I drive two vehicles, a Chevy Camaro and an AMC Gremlin. I won the former on a game show."

  1. Former as a noun:

    Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.

    Examples:

    "Dave was the former of the company."

  2. Former as a noun:

    An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.

    Examples:

    "The brick arch was built using a wooden former."

  3. Former as a noun (chiefly, British, used in combinations):

    Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).

    Examples:

    "Fifth-former."

    "Sixth-former."

  1. Old as an adjective:

    Of an object, concept, relationship, etc., having existed for a relatively long period of time. Of a living being, having lived for most of the expected years. Of a perishable item, having existed for most, or more than its shelf life.

    Examples:

    "an old abandoned building;  an old friend"

    "a wrinkled old man"

    "an old loaf of bread"

  2. Old as an adjective:

    Of an item that has been used and so is not new .

    Examples:

    "I find that an old toothbrush is good to clean the keyboard with."

  3. Old as an adjective:

    Having existed or lived for the specified time.

    Examples:

    "How old are they? She’s five years old and he's seven. We also have a young teen and a two-year-old child."

    "My great-grandfather lived to be a hundred and one years old."

  4. Old as an adjective:

    Of an earlier time. Former, previous. That is no longer in existence. Obsolete; out-of-date. Familiar.

    Examples:

    "My new car is not as good as my old one.  nowrap a school reunion for Old Etonians"

    "The footpath follows the route of an old railway line."

    "That is the old way of doing things; now we do it this way."

    "When he got drunk and quarrelsome they just gave him the old heave-ho."

  5. Old as an adjective:

    Tiresome.

    Examples:

    "Your constant pestering is getting old."

  6. Old as an adjective:

    Said of subdued colors, particularly reds, pinks and oranges, as if they had faded over time.

  7. Old as an adjective:

    A grammatical intensifier, often used in describing something positive. (Mostly in idioms like good old, big old and little old, any old and some old.)

    Examples:

    "We're having a good old time. nowrap My next car will be a big old SUV.  nowrap My wife makes the best little old apple pie in Texas."

  8. Old as an adjective (obsolete):

    Excessive, abundant.

  1. Old as a noun (with "the"):

    People who are old; old beings; the older generation, taken as a group.

    Examples:

    "A civilised society should always look after the old in the community."

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