afterimage

noun

af·​ter·​im·​age ˈaf-tər-ˌi-mij 

plural afterimages

1

: a usually visual sensation occurring after stimulation by its external cause has ceased

2

: a lasting memory or mental image of something

The problem with the heros of myths is that, although they were once a reality or rooted in one, they rarely matched their lovely afterimage.

—Irvin Faust

Examples of afterimage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those truths come together in a series of ands and buts, which layer upon and contradict each other, like the afterimages of Tullock in Stefania Bulbarella’s video design. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025

But her teachers at the school left important afterimages. —Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025

Fire to create an afterimage of yourself that projects a beam of light in Valorant. —Mike Stubbs, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025

The digital detectors used by the camera suffered from an issue called quantum efficiency hysteresis, or QEH—when WF/PC took an image of a bright object, there was an afterimage left behind that would mess up later observations. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

after- + image entry 1

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for afterimage

• image
• scrimmage

Kids Definition

afterimage

noun

af·​ter·​im·​age -ˌim-ij 

: a usually visual sensation continuing after the stimulus causing it has ended

Medical Definition

afterimage

noun

af·​ter·​im·​age -ˌrim-ij 

: a usually visual sensation occurring after stimulation by its external cause has ceased

called also aftersensation, aftervision