Library / English Dictionary

THEN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

That time; that moment

Example:

we were friends from then on

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("then" is a kind of...):

point; point in time (an instant of time)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

At a specific prior time

Example:

the then president

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)

 III. (adverb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

Example:

and so home and to bed

Synonyms:

and so; so; then

Classified under:

Adverbs

Sense 2

Meaning:

At that time

Example:

science as it was then taught

Classified under:

Adverbs

Sense 3

Meaning:

In that case or as a consequence

Example:

then you'll be rich

Classified under:

Adverbs

Credits

 Context examples: 

Then she ought to look more cheerful.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Then there would always be company for them.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Let Marmee think we are getting things for ourselves, and then surprise her.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

From then on it was war between them.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He beat me then, as if he would have beaten me to death.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And then, so strange was the dream, there was a crash.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Why, then, was he picked out from all the other people whom Garcia met as particularly suited to his purpose?

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Tut, tut!” said Mr. Utterson; and then after a considerable pause, “Can’t I do anything?” he inquired.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“Art ready, then, fair son?” said the Abbot.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then he turned, and I never saw his face so grave.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)