the immediately preceding

USAGE SUMMARY

The term "the immediately preceding" is correct and can be used in written English.
It can be used to refer to something that happened or happened just before the action described in the sentence. For example, "The committee approved the motion, despite the objection of the immediately preceding speaker."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Experiments have shown that most cues fit into one of five categories: location, time, emotional state, other people or the immediately preceding action.

The New York Times - Magazine

What is more, the more times a girl had headed the ball in the immediately preceding practice, the worse her scores were on the anti-point test.

The New York Times

"The housing crunch and its impact on employment in construction, plus the demise of sub-prime lending, gave immigrants fewer opportunities for living and working in the suburbs than in the immediately preceding years," Dr. Frey said.

The New York Times

Central to the board's deliberations is a debate over whether one year's rent guidelines should be based solely on economic factors from the immediately preceding year or should compensate for previous inflationary fluctuations.

The New York Times

Lash went on to say (and I am paraphrasing) that eternal damnation – or its opposite – would have to be something experienced before we died, perhaps if the immediately preceding moment were spent in hell.

The Guardian - Opinion

Europe's highest court, in both this ruling and in the immediately preceding decision of Weltimmo, have emphasised the independence of national data protection authorities across the EU-bloc, and their legitimacy in investigating and enforcing their own laws.

The Guardian - Tech

"It would be quite useful," Miller and Thomas observe, "to permit users to 'take back' at least the immediately preceding command (by issuing some special 'undo' command)." Useful indeed!

The New York Times - Magazine

Furthermore, we look for evidence that observer grading is influenced by the severity of the immediately preceding case viewed.

American Heart Journal

The nature of the urban and territorial movements seems markedly different from that of the immediately preceding period.

City, Territory and Architecture

It required that short sales take place a price above the immediately preceding price i.e., after an up-tick.

Forbes

In relation to the immediately preceding, Lacan's Oedipal father is an Other with both Symbolic and Real faces.

SEP

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

In scientific or technical writing, use this phrase to clarify which specific trial, sample or data point you are comparing against the current subject.

Common error

Do not confuse "the immediately preceding" (coming before) with "the immediately proceeding" (coming after). This error can fundamentally flip the meaning of your sentence and lead to significant confusion in technical or legal documentation.

Linguistic Context

In the examples provided by Ludwig, "the immediately preceding" functions as a complex adjectival phrase within a definite noun phrase. It serves to strictly qualify a noun by establishing its relative position in a sequence. The adverb 'immediately' intensifies the adjective 'preceding', removing any ambiguity about potential gaps between two points of reference.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

55%

News & Media

25%

Encyclopedias

10%

Less common in

Formal & Business

5%

Wiki

4%

Social Media

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In conclusion, "the immediately preceding" is an essential phrase for anyone requiring exactness in their writing. Ludwig data demonstrates that it is a hallmark of high-level academic, scientific and journalistic discourse. Its primary strength lies in its ability to eliminate ambiguity, ensuring the reader knows exactly which item in a series is being referenced. While common in formal contexts, writers should be careful not to confuse it with 'proceeding' and should utilize it primarily when the 'immediacy' of the relationship is a vital piece of information. Overall, Ludwig AI confirms this phrase is grammatically sound and serves as a powerful tool for maintaining logical flow and technical accuracy.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

the directly preceding

Uses a synonym for 'immediately' that emphasizes a straight, unmediated sequence.

the just prior

Slightly less formal and emphasizes the temporal closeness.

the instantly preceding

Heightens the sense of immediacy, though less common in standard writing.

the prior

More common in legal or formal contexts but often interchangeable.

the previous

A more general term that doesn't explicitly guarantee there were no intervening steps.

the immediately past

Focuses more on the time period that has just ended rather than a position in a sequence.

the one before

A simpler, more conversational way to refer to the preceding item.

the antecedent

A formal or linguistic term for what comes before something else.

the foregoing

Used in formal writing to refer to everything that has just been stated.

the former

Refers to the first of two things mentioned, rather than the one strictly before the current point.

FAQs

How do I use "the immediately preceding" in a sentence?

You use it as a modifier for a noun to indicate proximity. For example: "The researcher analyzed the data from the current trial and compared it to the results of "the immediately preceding" trial."

What is a synonym for "the immediately preceding"?

Depending on your context, you can use phrases like "the directly preceding", "the previous", or "the just prior".

Is "the immediately preceding" redundant?

No, it is not redundant. While 'preceding' means 'coming before', adding 'immediately' specifies that there are no other items or events in between, which is crucial for precision in formal writing.

What is the difference between "the immediately preceding" and "the immediately following"?

"the immediately preceding" refers to what came just before, while "the immediately following" refers to what comes just after.