belated

adjective

be·lat·ed | \ bi-ˈlā-təd

, bē-\

Definition of belated

1 : delayed beyond the usual time One of the men was belated and did not join us at all.— William Pittenger

2 : existing or appearing past the normal or proper time a belated birthday card She received belated recognition for her work.

Other Words from belated Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about belated

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Did You Know?

Long ago, there was a verb "belate," which meant "to make late." From the beginning, "belate" tended to mostly turn up in the form of its past participle "belated." Eventually, "belate" itself fell out of use, leaving behind "belated" as an adjective that preserved the original notion of delay. As you may have guessed, "belate" and its descendant "belated" derive from the adjective "late"; "belate" was formed by simply combining the prefix be- ("to cause to be") with "late."

Examples of belated in a Sentence

She received belated recognition for her scientific discovery.

Recent Examples on the Web

The surprise announcement was largely dismissed as a belated damage control effort by victims' advocates. — Greg Norman, Fox News, "Pope Francis leads Vatican summit on abuse scandal, OKs probe of American bishop accused of sex harassment," 13 Sep. 2018 The belated efforts to reconcile with Indigenous people have been championed by the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. — Dan Bilefsky, New York Times, "Protests Shutter a Show That Cast White Singers as Black Slaves," 4 July 2018 The belated referral of the issue to judicial authorities and what was widely viewed as insufficient action at the time by the Elysee Palace has triggered a firestorm from the opposition. — Fox News, "French investigators raid home of Macron's bodyguard," 21 July 2018 Despite the belated announcement of her performance, James, an alum of the reality show R&B Divas: Los Angeles, was actually the first musical act of the night. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Soul Singer Brought a Choir to the Victoria's Secret Runway," 9 Nov. 2018 The belated addition of the feature would be a little surprising because Apple doesn’t seem too enamored with SIM cards in the first place. — Sam Byford, The Verge, "Why Apple might make a dual-SIM iPhone," 29 Aug. 2018 Spring has finally made its belated appearance, at least weather-wise. — Jane Napier Neely, latimes.com, "The Valley Line: Beauty of nature captured in local woman’s paintings now on display at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital," 26 Mar. 2018 Thank you for my belated but perfect birthday dinner!! — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson Were Incredibly Loved-Up in Mexico," 16 Aug. 2018 Making a belated Chicago debut at Park West, Hixson turned in a performance that raised many questions, but especially one: What took her so long to play Chicago? — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "Singer Maud Hixson makes a stand in Chicago — finally," 20 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'belated.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.