preceding

preceding
pre‧ced‧ing AC /prɪˈsiːdɪŋ/ adjective [only before noun]formal happening or coming before the time, place, or part mentioned
   SYN  previous
   OPP  following
    preceding days/weeks/months/years
    income tax paid in preceding years
    preceding chapter/paragraph/page etc
    the diagram in the preceding chapter
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ previous [only before noun] used when talking about a person, thing, time etc before the one that you are talking about now: The car’s previous owner didn’t take very good care of it. | Please ignore my previous instructions. | The temperature is higher than in previous years.
   ▪ last [only before noun] used when talking about the one that you had just before now, or the one that existed just before now: The last apartment we lived in was much smaller than this one. | Ben’s last girlfriend was a teacher. | Beth broke up with her last boyfriend because he drank too much.
   ▪ old [only before noun] used when talking about people you knew or things you had in the past, or about things that existed in the past and have been replaced by newer things: I never liked my old boss. | I saw Phil with one of my old girlfriends. | The new stadium is much bigger than the old one. | He was my old maths teacher.
   ▪ preceding [only before noun] formal coming just before the time or thing you have just mentioned, or before the part of a book where you are now: There were fewer crimes compared to the preceding year. | The author dealt with this subject in the preceding chapters of the book. | In the preceding section of the poem, Whitman is talking about how important it is to live in the present.
   ▪ former [only before noun] formal used to describe someone or something that used to have a particular job or position but does not any more: her former husband | the former US President | Kyoto was the former capital of Japan.
   ▪ ex-wife/boyfriend/soldier etc someone who used to be someone’s wife, used to be a soldier etc, but is not any more: Her dad’s an ex-policeman. | Lydia is still friends with her ex-husband.
   ▪ the one before the person or thing that existed before the one you have just mentioned: I didn’t enjoy Spielberg’s last film but I thought the one before was all right. | Each year, the convention is a little larger than the one before.