afterwards

af·ter·wards
A1F4T1E1R1W4A1R1D2S1
UK/ˈɑːftə.wədz/US/ˈæf.tɚ.wɚdz/

adverb

At a later or succeeding time; after that;

Similar
afterhandafterwardsubsequentlylaterafterlater on
Opposite
beforehand
OriginMiddle English afterwardes ← Old English æfteweard →
CommonScrabble 17
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Word of the Day · Dec 21, 2025

Meanings

adverbafterwards (not comparable)
  1. not comparabletemporal locationAt a later or succeeding time; after that;
    1 more example

    Another Karadeniz cross led to Cudicini's first save of the night, with the Spurs keeper making up for a weak punch by brilliantly pushing away Christian Noboa's snap-shot. Two more top-class stops followed quickly afterwards, first from Natcho's rasping shot which was heading into the top corner, and then to deny Ryazantsev at his near post.

    2011 November 3, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport

    Synonyms: afterhand, afterward

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbAt a later or succeeding time; after that;

Similar
afterhandafterward
Opposite
beforehand

More synonyms by meaning

adverbhappening at a time subsequent to a reference time

Similar
subsequentlylaterafterwardafterlater on
Also see
afterlaterlater ononsubsequentlythereafter

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishæfteweard“behind”
  2. Middle Englishafterwardes
  3. Englishafterwards

From Middle English afterwardes, from Old English æfteweard (“behind”) + -s (“(adverbial genitive)”). By surface analysis, after + -wards.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ὑστέρως, εἶτα
  • ὑστέρως (hustérōs)at a later or succeeding time
  • εἶτα (eîta)at a later or succeeding time
Arabic أَخِير, بَعْدَ ذٰلِك
  • أَخِير (ʔaḵīr)at a later or succeeding time
  • بَعْدَ ذٰلِك (baʕda ḏālik)at a later or succeeding time
Bengali এরপর, এর পর
  • এরপর (erpor)at a later or succeeding time
  • এর পর (er por)at a later or succeeding time
  • এরপরে (erpore)at a later or succeeding time
  • এর পরেat a later or succeeding time
  • তারপর (tarpor)at a later or succeeding time
  • তার পর (tar por)at a later or succeeding time
  • তারপরে (tarpore)at a later or succeeding time
  • তার পরেat a later or succeeding time
Bulgarian след това, впоследствие
  • след товаat a later or succeeding time
  • впоследствие (vposledstvie)at a later or succeeding time
Catalan després
  • desprésat a later or succeeding time
Chinese Cantonese 然後 /然后, 然之後 /然之后
  • 然後 /然后 (jin⁴ hau⁶)at a later or succeeding time
  • 然之後 /然之后 (jin⁴ zi¹ hau⁶)at a later or succeeding time
Chinese Mandarin 然後 /然后
  • 然後 /然后 (ránhòu)at a later or succeeding time
Czech později, poté
  • pozdějiat a later or succeeding time
  • potéat a later or succeeding time
Danish bagefter, senere
  • bagefterat a later or succeeding time
  • senereat a later or succeeding time
Dutch nadien, achteraf
  • nadienat a later or succeeding time
  • achterafat a later or succeeding time
Esperanto poste
  • posteat a later or succeeding time
Finnish jälkeenpäin, jälkikäteen
  • jälkeenpäinat a later or succeeding time
  • jälkikäteenat a later or succeeding time
  • perästäpäinat a later or succeeding time
  • sittemminat a later or succeeding time
  • myöhemminat a later or succeeding time
  • perässäat a later or succeeding time
French après, ultérieurement
  • aprèsat a later or succeeding time
  • ultérieurementat a later or succeeding time
  • ensuiteat a later or succeeding time
  • après coupat a later or succeeding time
  • par la suiteat a later or succeeding time
German später, nachher
  • späterat a later or succeeding time
  • nachherat a later or succeeding time
  • danachat a later or succeeding time
  • hinterherat a later or succeeding time
Greek ύστερα, κατόπιν
  • ύστερα (ýstera)at a later or succeeding time
  • κατόπιν (katópin)at a later or succeeding time
  • μετά (metá)at a later or succeeding time
Hebrew אחר־כך
  • אחר־כך (akhar-kakh)at a later or succeeding time
Hindi बाद में, पश्चात
  • बाद में (bād mẽ)at a later or succeeding time
  • पश्चात (paścāt)at a later or succeeding time
Hungarian azután, később
  • azutánat a later or succeeding time
  • későbbat a later or succeeding time
  • utóbbat a later or succeeding time
  • utólagat a later or succeeding time
  • utánaat a later or succeeding time
Irish ina dhiaidh sin
  • ina dhiaidh sinat a later or succeeding time
Italian dopo, poi
  • dopoat a later or succeeding time
  • poiat a later or succeeding time
  • successivamenteat a later or succeeding time
  • in seguitoat a later or succeeding time
  • dopodichéat a later or succeeding time
Japanese その後, それから
  • その後 (sonogo)at a later or succeeding time
  • それから (sorekara)at a later or succeeding time
  • 後で (atode)at a later or succeeding time
Latin posteā, mox
  • posteāat a later or succeeding time
  • moxat a later or succeeding time
  • hincat a later or succeeding time
  • tuncat a later or succeeding time
Latvian pēc tam, vēlāk
  • pēc tamat a later or succeeding time
  • vēlākat a later or succeeding time
Māori muri, nō muri
  • muriat a later or succeeding time
  • nō muriat a later or succeeding time
Norwegian i etterkant, derpå
  • i etterkantat a later or succeeding time
  • derpåat a later or succeeding time
Norwegian Bokmål etter, etterpå
  • etterat a later or succeeding time
  • etterpåat a later or succeeding time
  • senereat a later or succeeding time
  • deretterat a later or succeeding time
  • i ettertidat a later or succeeding time
Persian بعد, بعداً
  • بعد (ba'd)at a later or succeeding time
  • بعداً (ba'dan)at a later or succeeding time
  • سپس (sepas)at a later or succeeding time
Polish później, potem
  • późniejat a later or succeeding time
  • potemat a later or succeeding time
Portuguese depois, mais tarde
  • depoisat a later or succeeding time
  • mais tardeat a later or succeeding time
  • em seguidaat a later or succeeding time
Romanian apoi, mai târziu
  • apoiat a later or succeeding time
  • mai târziuat a later or succeeding time
Russian по́зже, потом
  • по́зже (pózže)at a later or succeeding time
  • потом (potom)at a later or succeeding time
  • после (posle)at a later or succeeding time
  • впосле́дствии (vposlédstvii)at a later or succeeding time
Scottish Gaelic an dèidh sin, an dèidh làimhe
  • an dèidh sinat a later or succeeding time
  • an dèidh làimheat a later or succeeding time
Slovak potom
  • potomat a later or succeeding time
Spanish después, consecuentemente
  • despuésat a later or succeeding time
  • consecuentementeat a later or succeeding time
  • en seguidaat a later or succeeding time
Swedish efteråt, senare
  • efteråtat a later or succeeding time
  • senareat a later or succeeding time
Tagalog pagkatapos
  • pagkataposat a later or succeeding time
Tamil பின்னே
  • பின்னே (piṉṉē)at a later or succeeding time
Turkish sonradan, daha sonra
  • sonradanat a later or succeeding time
  • daha sonraat a later or succeeding time
  • sonralarıat a later or succeeding time
  • sonraat a later or succeeding time
  • sonrasındaat a later or succeeding time
Ukrainian пізні́ше, зго́дом
  • пізні́ше (pizníše)at a later or succeeding time
  • зго́дом (zhódom)at a later or succeeding time
  • по́тім (pótim)at a later or succeeding time
Urdu بعد میں
  • بعد میں (bād mẽ)at a later or succeeding time
Vietnamese sau này, sau đó
  • sau nàyat a later or succeeding time
  • sau đóat a later or succeeding time
  • về sauat a later or succeeding time
Welsh wedyn
  • wedynat a later or succeeding time
Yiddish דערנאָך
  • דערנאָך (dernokh)at a later or succeeding time

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

afterwords
Cite this entry
APA

afterwards. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/afterwards

MLA

“afterwards.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/afterwards. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “afterwards,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/afterwards.

Source: afterwards on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.