situated before or at the front of; fore ( opposed to posterior ).

going before in time or sequence; preceding; earlier

events anterior to the outbreak of war.

Linguistics . (in distinctive feature analysis) articulated in the region extending from the alveolar ridge to the lips; alveolar, dental, or labial.

(in animals and embryos) pertaining to or toward the head or forward end of the body.

(in humans) pertaining to or toward the front plane of the body, equivalent to the ventral surface of quadrupeds.

Botany . on the front side and away from the main axis, as the lower lip of a flower.

adjective

ending , posterior , subsequent

adjective

antecedent , foregoing , former , past , precedent , preceding , previousnotes:anterior / ventral means \'front , situated at the front\' and posterior / dorsal means \'rear , situated at the rear\' , earlier , previous , prior , atlantal , before , forward , front