Meanings
comparative more a posteriori · superlative most a posteriori
- human sciencesInvolving induction of theories from facts.
What Locke calls "knowledge" they have called "a priori knowledge"; what he calls "opinion" or "belief" they have called "a posteriori" or "empirical knowledge".
1988, R. S. Woolhouse, The empiricists, Oxford University PressSynonyms: empirical, inductive · Antonyms: a priori, deductive
comparative more a posteriori · superlative most a posteriori
- human sciencesIn a manner that deduces theories from facts.
1 more example
FALLACIES of the modern worldview have to do with the conception of the world as substance or machinery, mistaking abstractions for reality, confusing origins and truth, failing to attribute feeling to things that feel, recognising ethics as exclusively anthropocentric, thinking a posteriori, objectifying facts as separated from values, reducing the complex to the simple and dividing knowledge into distinct disciplines that produce experts who are often wrong.
1991, New ScientistSynonyms: inductively[Appendix:Glossary · Antonyms: a priori, deductively
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveInvolving induction of theories from facts.
adjectiveOf a constructed language, Developed on a basis of languages which already exist.
adverbIn a manner that deduces theories from facts.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveinvolving reasoning from facts or particulars to general principles or from effects to causes
adverbderived from observed facts
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Medieval Latinā posteriōrī“involving reasoning from effect to cause, from experience to theory”
- Englisha posteriori
Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ā posteriōrī (“involving reasoning from effect to cause, from experience to theory”, literally “from what follows”). Popularized from the 19th century in reference to the work of Immanuel Kant.
More words from Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic البعديَة
- البعديَة (alʔbādiya)in a manner that deduces theories from facts
Chinese Mandarin 後驗 /后验, 後驗 /后验
- 後驗 /后验 (hòuyàn)involving deduction of theories from facts
- 後驗 /后验 (hòuyàn)in a manner that deduces theories from facts
Danish a posteriori
- a posterioriinvolving deduction of theories from facts
Finnish aposteriorinen, aposteriorisesti
- aposteriorineninvolving deduction of theories from facts
- aposteriorisestiin a manner that deduces theories from facts
French a posteriori
- a posterioriin a manner that deduces theories from facts
German a posteriori, im Nachhinein
- a posterioriinvolving deduction of theories from facts
- im Nachhineininvolving deduction of theories from facts
- aposteriorischinvolving deduction of theories from facts
- a posterioriin a manner that deduces theories from facts
- im Nachhineinin a manner that deduces theories from facts
Greek επαγωγικός, εκ των υστέρων
- επαγωγικός (epagogikós)involving deduction of theories from facts
- εκ των υστέρων (ek ton ystéron)in a manner that deduces theories from facts
Hindi अनुभवजन्य
- अनुभवजन्य (anubhavjanya)in a manner that deduces theories from facts
Italian a posteriori
- a posterioriinvolving deduction of theories from facts
Japanese 後験的, アポステリオリ
- 後験的 (koukenteki)involving deduction of theories from facts
- アポステリオリ (aposuteriori)involving deduction of theories from facts
Norwegian Bokmål a posteriori, a posteriori
- a posterioriinvolving deduction of theories from facts
- a posterioriin a manner that deduces theories from facts
Polish a posteriori, a posteriori
- a posterioriinvolving deduction of theories from facts
- a posterioriin a manner that deduces theories from facts
Portuguese a posteriori, a posteriori
- a posterioriinvolving deduction of theories from facts
- a posterioriin a manner that deduces theories from facts
Russian апостерио́рный, апостерио́ри
- апостерио́рный (aposteriórnyj)involving deduction of theories from facts
- апостерио́ри (aposterióri)in a manner that deduces theories from facts
- по по о́пыту (po po ópytu)in a manner that deduces theories from facts
Spanish a posteriori, a posteriori
- a posterioriinvolving deduction of theories from facts
- a posterioriin a manner that deduces theories from facts
Tagalog masiranin
- masiranininvolving deduction of theories from facts
Ukrainian апостеріо́рний, апостеріо́рі
- апостеріо́рний (aposteriórnyj)involving deduction of theories from facts
- апостеріо́рі (aposterióri)in a manner that deduces theories from facts
Vietnamese hậu nghiệm
- hậu nghiệminvolving deduction of theories from facts
Cite this entry
a posteriori. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20posteriori
“a posteriori.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20posteriori. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a posteriori,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20posteriori.
Source: a posteriori on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.