late

late

adjective

Definition of LATE

1

not arriving, occurring, or settled at the due, usual, or proper time <I ran as fast as I could, but was still late for class>

Synonyms behind, behindhand, belated, delinquent, latish, overdue, tardy

Related Words delayed, detained, postponed; dallying, dawdling, dilatory, dillydallying, dragging, laggard, lagging, poky (or pokey), slow, sluggish, unhurried

Near Antonyms opportune, seasonable, timely; prompt, punctual

Antonyms early, inopportune, precocious, premature, unseasonable, untimely

2

having been such at some previous time <the late musical director said he would never have allowed such behavior while he was in charge>

Synonyms erstwhile, late, old, once, onetime, other, past, quondam, sometime, whilom

Related Words bygone, dead, defunct, departed, expired, extinct, gone, long-ago, vanished

Near Antonyms contemporary, current, extant, ongoing, present, present-day; coming, future, prospective, unborn

3

no longer living <our late granduncle remembered us in his will>

Synonyms asleep, breathless, cold, deceased, defunct, demised, departed, fallen, gone, late, lifeless, low

Related Words extinct; dying, fading, moribund; stillborn; finished, lapsed, terminated; inanimate, insensate, nonliving

Near Antonyms animated; dynamic, lively, thriving, vibrant, vital, vivacious; active, functioning, operative, running

Antonyms alive, animate, breathing, going, live, living, quick

4

being far along in development <late impressionism gave rise to pointillism>

Synonyms developed, evolved, forward, high, higher, improved, late, progressive, refined

Related Words precocious; full-blown, full-fledged, full-scale; aged, grown, mature, matured, perfected, ripe, ripened; civilized, educated, enhanced, enlightened; contemporary, current, cutting-edge, latest, leading-edge, mod, modern, new, newest, newfangled, new-fashioned, novel, now, present-day, recent, space-age, supermodern, ultramodern, up-to-date

Near Antonyms green, immature, underdeveloped, undersized (also undersize), underweight, unripe, unripened; savage, uncivilized, uneducated; early, embryonic, germinal, primeval, primordial; antediluvian, antiquated, antique, dated, fusty, hoary, musty, Neanderthal (or Neandertal), obsolete, old, oldfangled, old-fashioned, old-time, out-of-date, outworn, passé, past

Antonyms backward, low, lower, nonprogressive, primitive, retarded, rude, rudimentary, undeveloped