Does "former teachers" make sense?

[Joe]

Does "former teachers/friends" make sense? Suppose I am in college now, can I refer to my teachers and friends in high school as "former teachers/friends"? I didn't this usage of "former" in several dictionaries, but I can see "former friends" if I do a google search. I'm confused, in need of your comments. Thanks.

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Joe

Does "former teachers/friends" make sense? Suppose I am in college now, can I refer to my teachers and friends in high school as "former teachers/friends"? I didn't this usage of "former" in several dictionaries, but I can see "former friends" if I do a google search. I'm confused, in need of your comments. Thanks.

Well, it's OK, but it has an idiomatic ring to it, and it's not always a positive one, in that it can mean, the one I had before, but one that has since been replaced by something/someone better.

EX: She is my former girlfriend.
EX: He is one of our former employees.

Try,

My teachers from high school
My friends from high school

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Casiopea

Well, it's OK, but it has an idiomatic ring to it, and it's not always a positive one, in that it can mean, the one I had before, but one that has since been replaced by something/someone better.

EX: She is my former girlfriend.
EX: He is one of our former employees.

Try,

My teachers from high school
My friends from high school

Cas, I get your point about it not being always a positive one. As a native-speaker, if you hear someone saying "I miss my former classmates/friends/teachers", you don't feel weird, do you?

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Joe

Cas, I get your point about it not being always a positive one. As a native-speaker, if you hear someone saying "I miss my former classmates/friends/teachers", you don't feel weird, do you?

It sounds OK in that context, but personally speaking I would use 'old'; it's more colloquial.

I wouldn't feel weird, but if I were your present classmate, I'd be a little sad, because it would mean that you like them more than you like me.