hitherto
adverb
hith·er·to
ˈhi-t͟hər-ˌtü 
ˌhi-t͟hər-ˈtü
: up to this or that time
reveals some hitherto unknown facts about her life
Examples of hitherto in a Sentence
at the talent show Kyle revealed his hitherto unknown gift for doing impressions
Recent Examples on the Web
Dark matter is generally thought to be a hitherto unknown particle or set of particles, such as axions, though other objects — like primordial black holes from the very beginning of the universe — are also in the conversation.
—
Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
Bella is back in London and is to marry Max, and her ex-husband Alfie, hitherto unknown, turns up at the wedding to claim her.
—Tony McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024
The duplicate flight initiates a hitherto unused security measure called Protocol 42.
—Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024
That is, until he's had enough of being bullied and snaps, discovering a hitherto unknown talent for sacking quarterbacks.
—Ilana Gordon, EW.com, 9 Sep. 2023
Suddenly, a glut of data revealed hitherto unknown microbial diversity.
—Dan Samorodnitsky, Quanta Magazine, 17 Jan. 2024
This gives producers more creative license to deliver on ambitious concepts and storylines which were hitherto challenging due to logistical constraints, minimizing the need for extensive physical sets and location shoots.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Dec. 2023
The House vote is one of the first applications of the hitherto obscure Congressional Review Act of 1996, which gives Congress 60 legislative days to overturn new regulations.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 Feb. 2017
My husband’s hitherto unknown, but apparently deep-seated, yen to make pizza first revealed itself two summers ago.
—Sunshine Flint, wsj.com, 26 Sep. 2023
Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
Bella is back in London and is to marry Max, and her ex-husband Alfie, hitherto unknown, turns up at the wedding to claim her.
—Tony McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024
The duplicate flight initiates a hitherto unused security measure called Protocol 42.
—Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024
That is, until he's had enough of being bullied and snaps, discovering a hitherto unknown talent for sacking quarterbacks.
—Ilana Gordon, EW.com, 9 Sep. 2023
Suddenly, a glut of data revealed hitherto unknown microbial diversity.
—Dan Samorodnitsky, Quanta Magazine, 17 Jan. 2024
This gives producers more creative license to deliver on ambitious concepts and storylines which were hitherto challenging due to logistical constraints, minimizing the need for extensive physical sets and location shoots.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Dec. 2023
The House vote is one of the first applications of the hitherto obscure Congressional Review Act of 1996, which gives Congress 60 legislative days to overturn new regulations.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 Feb. 2017
My husband’s hitherto unknown, but apparently deep-seated, yen to make pizza first revealed itself two summers ago.
—Sunshine Flint, wsj.com, 26 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hitherto.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hitherto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hitherto. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hitherto
adverb
hith·er·to
ˈhit͟h-ər-ˌtü
: up to this time
hitherto unknown facts
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