ante
before; in the face of; faced with
preposition AHN-teh Common
Origin: From Latin ante 'before, in front of'.
Usage Note
Ante is primarily formal or written and expresses facing a situation, authority, or obligation: comparecer ante el juez 'to appear before the judge'. In everyday speech it is largely replaced by frente a or delante de for physical position and ante is reserved for figurative contexts. The prefix ante- also appears in words like anteponer 'to put before' and anteayer 'the day before yesterday'.
Examples
"Se quedó inmóvil ante la noticia."
Natural Translation
She froze in the face of the news.
Literal Translation
She-stayed immobile before the news
Free starter pack
Building your Spanish vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore Spanish by topic
