/ˈfɔ:məli ||; ˈfɔrmḷɪ/adv in the past; before now 过去；以前:
the country of Myanmar (formerly Burma) 缅甸（Myanmar，以前叫Burma）The hotel was formerly a castle. 这家酒店的前身是个城堡。 Used to be is a more common way of saying was formerly The hotel used to be a castle. used to be可表示was formerly的意思，且较常用：The hotel used to be a castle.这家酒店原本是个城堡。