posthumously

adverb

post·​hu·​mous·​ly ˈpäs-chə-məs-lē 

also -tə-, 

-tyə-, 

-thə-;

päst-ˈhyü-məs-, 

ˈpōst-, 

-ˈyü-

: after the death of the person in question

a book published posthumously

a medal awarded posthumously

Plath's magnificent Ariel, written mostly during the final months of her life and assembled posthumously by Hughes, takes the notion of confessional poetry to verbal and imaginative extremes.

—Christopher Benfey

Flannery O'Connor united both traditions and is duly, albeit posthumously, celebrated.

—Walker Percy

Examples of posthumously in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Former rugby union player and brain injury activist Shane Christie has been posthumously diagnosed with CTE after taking his own life in August 2025. —Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026

Though she was killed before the completion of her first bilingual album, Dreaming of You, it was released posthumously on July 18, 1995. —Jacqueline Weiss, PEOPLE, 31 Mar. 2026

Eric Dane, who featured in the first two seasons, also returns, posthumously. —Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026

He was posthumously promoted from corporal to sergeant, the military said. —Kerry Breen, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1754, in the meaning defined above