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late

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of late

1 not arriving, occurring, or settled at the due, usual, or proper time

  • I ran as fast as I could, but was still late for class
Synonyms of late

behind, behindhand, belated, delinquent, latish, overdue, tardy
Words Related to late

delayed, detained, postponed

dallying, dawdling, dilatory, dillydallying, dragging, laggard, lagging, poky (or pokey), slow, sluggish, unhurried
Near Antonyms of late

opportune, seasonable, timely

prompt, punctual
Antonyms of late

early, inopportune, precocious, premature, unseasonable, untimely

2 having been such at some previous time

  • the late musical director said he would never have allowed such behavior while he was in charge
Synonyms of late

erstwhile, former, old, once, onetime, other, past, quondam, sometime, whilom
Words Related to late

bygone, dead, defunct, departed, expired, extinct, gone, long-ago, vanished
Near Antonyms of late

contemporary, current, extant, ongoing, present, present-day

coming, future, prospective, unborn

3 no longer living

  • our late granduncle remembered us in his will
Synonyms of late

asleep, breathless, cold, dead, deceased, defunct, demised, departed, fallen, gone, lifeless, low
Words Related to late

extinct

dying, fading, moribund

stillborn

finished, lapsed, terminated

inanimate, insensate, nonliving
Phrases Synonymous with late

bitten the dust
Near Antonyms of late

animated

dynamic, lively, thriving, vibrant, vital, vivacious

active, functioning, operative, running
Antonyms of late

alive, animate, breathing, going, live, living, quick

4 being far along in development

  • late impressionism gave rise to pointillism
Synonyms of late

advanced, developed, evolved, forward, high, higher, improved, progressive, refined
Words Related to late

precocious

full-blown, full-fledged, full-scale

aged, grown, mature, matured, perfected, ripe, ripened

civilized, educated, enhanced, enlightened

contemporary, current, cutting-edge, latest, leading-edge, mod, modern, new, newest, newfangled, new-fashioned, novel, now, present-day, recent, space-age, supermodern, ultramodern, up-to-date
Near Antonyms of late

green, immature, underdeveloped, undersized (also undersize), underweight, unripe, unripened

savage, uncivilized, uneducated

early, embryonic, germinal, primeval, primordial

antediluvian, antiquated, antique, dated, fusty, hoary, musty, Neanderthal (or Neandertal), obsolete, old, oldfangled, old-fashioned, old-time, out-of-date, outworn, passé, past
Antonyms of late

backward, low, lower, nonprogressive, primitive, retarded, rude, rudimentary, undeveloped

Synonym Discussion of late

dead, defunct, deceased, departed, late mean devoid of life. dead applies literally to what is deprived of vital force but is used figuratively of anything that has lost any attribute (such as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life.
    • a dead, listless performance
defunct stresses cessation of active existence or operation.
    • a defunct television series
deceased, departed, and late apply to persons who have died recently. deceased is the preferred term in legal use.
    • the estate of the deceased
departed is used usually as a euphemism.
    • our departed sister
late is used especially with reference to a person in a specific relation or status.
    • the company's late president

late

adverb

Synonyms and Antonyms of late

1 after the due, usual, or proper time

  • she has a habit of arriving late for everything
Synonyms of late

belatedly, delinquently, tardily
Words Related to late

afterward (or afterwards), anon, eventually, later, latterly, subsequently, thereafter

dilatorily, laggardly, pokily, slow, slowly, sluggishly
Near Antonyms of late

immediately, promptly, punctually

pronto, quickly, rapidly, snappily, speedily, swiftly
Antonyms of late

beforehand, early, inopportunely, precociously, prematurely, unseasonably

2 not long ago

  • the actress, late of New York but now of Los Angeles, is being eagerly sought for film roles
Synonyms of late

freshly, just, lately, new, newly, now, only, recently
Words Related to late

latterly
Phrases Synonymous with late

of late
Near Antonyms of late

ago, before, earlier, early, erstwhile, formerly, previously

heretofore, hitherto
Antonyms of late

anciently

Learn More about late

  1. See words that rhyme with late Dictionary: Definition of late Spanish Central: Translation of late Nglish: Translation of late for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of late for Arabic speakers

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