belatedly

adverb

as in later
after the due, usual, or proper time she belatedly realized that it had been her friend's birthday the day before

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of belatedly This year, blessedly free of injury, Muchová has belatedly been able to play the kind of tennis that makes purists purr. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 5 July 2026 Willis, who still performs periodically, is preparing to belatedly release his first solo album. — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2026 His lament mirrored the anguish of legions of Venezuelans who endured harrowing days clearing rubble by hand before crews with heavy equipment and rescue dogs belatedly arrived. — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026 These Supreme Court cases were belatedly allowed to proceed due to a 1996 law, the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act. — Manuel A. Gómez, The Conversation, 25 June 2026 That’s when Hilton renewed his earlier calls for Bianco to belatedly drop out of the race. — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 9 June 2026 The Spanish Catholic hierarchy is belatedly reckoning with decades of abuse and cover-ups in the once-staunchly Catholic country. — ABC News, 6 June 2026 The Digest Feminist, self-taught, and belatedly recognized French artist Raymonde Arcier has died at 86. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 2 June 2026 That contrast was also manifest in the relative outcomes; the White House only belatedly announced deals for the sale of 200 Boeing jets and at least $17 billion of American agricultural products annually to China through 2028. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belatedly
  1. later
  2. late
  3. eventually
  4. slowly
Adverb
  • The suspect vehicle was found a short time later, police said, but the suspect was still at large Wednesday.
    — Jason Green, Mercury News, 9 July 2026
  • And in one section, 1,200 cc engines are being assembled for the company’s new superpremium motorbike, the Norton Manx R, one of four new models from the historic British brand now owned by TVS Motor and set to go on sale later this year.
    — Anu Raghunathan, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of later
Adverb
  • Shortstop Miguel Rojas, who botched a grounder to his left earlier in the inning that enabled a run to score, was late breaking to cover third, leaving the bag wide open.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
  • The Americans, at last coming up for air, had a moment late in the half that buoyed a capacity crowd in Seattle’s NFL stadium and numerous watch parties throughout San Diego County.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2026
Definition of late
Adverb
  • Zann eventually got a call from casting director Meredith Layne and a screenplay with lines that were instantly familiar from her time voicing Rogue, the spunky heroine whose touch can be deadly, in the ‘90s.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • Combining topological quantum materials with non-Hermitian physics may eventually enable ultra-sensitive detectors capable of responding to extremely small electric, magnetic, and other environmental signals.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026
Definition of eventually
Adverb
  • Move the animal to shade and slowly pour water cooler than their body temperature over them, avoiding the head so breathing stays clear.
    — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 9 July 2026
  • Companies that desperately threw themselves into Facebook digital video, like Mic, Mashable, Vocativ, and MTV News, died or slowly faded away.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of slowly

Browse Nearby Words

belated
belatedly
belatedness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Belatedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belatedly. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All