Definition of SUBSEQUENT

Subsequent vs. Consequent

The English language has many ways to indicate that something has come after another thing, but a number of these words have subtle differences that you may want to observe.

Something is subsequent if it follows something else in time, order, or place. Its meaning is very similar to that of following or later, but it has a more formal tone to it and may imply that something not only follows but in some way grows out of or is otherwise closely connected with what precedes it (“their courtship and subsequent marriage”).

Consequent may also be used of something that follows, but that does so explicitly as a result of something else (“I said an insensitive thing and the consequent argument lasted for days”).

There may be occasions when either subsequent or consequent would work ("her wounding and subsequent [or consequent] loss of blood"); your choice in such cases would depend upon whether you want to stress the order of events or the causal relationship between one event and another.

Examples of subsequent in a Sentence

Her subsequent account of her ordeal, "The Upstairs Room" (1972), was a young adult tour de force, winning a Newbery Honor and other awards. Compared with Anne Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl," it is sparer and sterner. — Leslie Garis, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009 In the past, collectors would often hand over partial ownership of a painting—usually from 10% to 20%—and take a tax deduction for an equivalent percentage of the appraised value. The write-off on subsequent donations could rise each time the painting's value grew. Donors got a tax break, and museums got the art to exhibit for a period of time each year. Many such paintings were ultimately bequeathed to the museums. — Jeanne McDowell, Time, 20 Nov. 2006 In 1991, the Nurses' Health Study found that women receiving hormone therapy (estrogen and progestin) enjoyed a big (44 percent) reduction in the risk of coronary artery disease, and millions of women were encouraged to begin the therapy to counteract the effects of menopause. But in 2002, the Women's Health Initiative produced a radically different conclusion: Hormone therapy increases the risk of coronary events in post-menopausal women by 20 percent. A subsequent study confirmed that result. — Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2005 The rate of population growth reached a peak in 1999 and declined in subsequent years. Her work had a great influence on subsequent generations. Subsequent studies confirmed their findings. his arrest and subsequent conviction

Recent Examples on the Web Violators could be fined $125 for a first offense and $250 for a second or subsequent offense. — Washington Post, "Virginia weighs handheld cellphone ban," 6 Feb. 2020 The yield curve has once again flattened and is at risk of inverting again, repeating a pattern last seen just before the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. — Sven Henrich For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "SARS didn't sink markets, but coronavirus might," 6 Feb. 2020 Bryant had said the encounter was consensual, but his apology and subsequent silence about the details of the case left lingering questions about what happened. — Andrew Beaton, WSJ, "The Cloud Hanging Over the Super Bowl," 30 Jan. 2020 Opponents of the new law have cited Harris’s initial arrest, release without bail and subsequent arrest as an example of the negative ramifications of bail reform. — Mahita Gajanan, Time, "Woman Accused of Slapping 3 Jewish Women in New York City Charged With Federal Hate Crimes. Her Case Raises Questions for New York's Bail Reform Laws," 29 Jan. 2020 Their relationship started out cordially but became strained as The Washington Post reported that the Saudi government was behind the gruesome killing and subsequent dismemberment of veteran Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Report: Bezos phone uploaded GBs of personal data after getting Saudi prince’s WhatsApp message," 21 Jan. 2020 The episode has been documented numerous times, but subsequent reporting reveals a more complete picture of the moment and the chilling effect Trump's comments and hostility had on the nation's military and national security leadership. — Carol D. Leonnig, Philip Rucker, Anchorage Daily News, "‘You’re a bunch of dopes and babies’: Inside Trump’s stunning tirade against generals," 17 Jan. 2020 Nonetheless, a subsequent tweet did confirm that the two foes patched things up after the incident. — Ashley Hoffman, Time, "Calculating Cat Thinks Long and Hard Before Ultimately Starting a Conflict," 21 Jan. 2020 Nikulin was quietly arrested in Prague in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election, when the Russian government's hacking of Democratic email systems and subsequent dissemination of the information by WikiLeaks dominated the campaign trail. — Jerry Dunleavy, Washington Examiner, "DOJ: Top FBI agent leaked sealed information on Russian hacker," 13 Jan. 2020

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