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

Despite the boost from Brown — who left in 1968 in order to sign with Polydor Records — King fully shut down that year, and Nathan, who was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, died in Florida a short time later at age 63 following years of heart issues. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2025

Trump is set to posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk today. —Jared Gans, The Hill, 14 Oct. 2025

In more recent decades, Daniel has emerged posthumously as a bard of Brooklyn. —David Kamp, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025

While Famous Last Words will feature career-spanning interviews, some of the questions are pointedly framed to reflect the fact that each episode will be posthumously released. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1754, in the meaning defined above