posterity

noun

pos·​ter·​i·​ty pä-ˈster-ə-tē 

1

: the offspring of one progenitor to the furthest generation

2

: all future generations

Synonyms

• fruit
• get
• issue
• offspring
• progeny
• seed
• spawn

Examples of posterity in a Sentence

Her broad aim is to reconcile the image of Johnson—the clubbable man, loved by posterity as well as by his contemporaries—and the man racked by disease and tormented by his fear of madness. —Frank Kermode, New York Review of Books, 22 June 2006

Posterity looks for hooks to hang old reputations on … —John Updike, New York Review of Books, 15 July 2004

The restructuring of the New York Yankees began five days after that broken-bat bloop by Luis Gonzalez parachuted to posterity behind second base, clinching the World Series for the Arizona Diamondbacks and breaking the Yankees' run of three titles. —Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated, 24-31 Dec. 2001

It was puzzling to own trees—they were not owned the way a business is owned or even a house is owned. If anything, they were held in trust. In trust. Yes, for all of posterity, beginning with Merry and her kids. —Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997

Posterity will remember her as a woman of courage and integrity.

A record of the events was preserved for posterity.

The truth about what happened will be known to posterity.

Recent Examples on the Web

No high-ceiling converted small church transformed into a mobile recording space by a young, committed, Alan Lomax-type character, passionate to preserve vanishing sharecropper songs for posterity. —Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024

And in architecture, posterity is always an objective. —Tim Brinkhof, Discover Magazine, 15 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English posterite, from Anglo-French pusterité, from Latin posteritat-, posteritas, from posterus coming after

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

posterity

noun

pos·​ter·​i·​ty pä-ˈster-ət-ē 

1

: the line of individuals descended from one ancestor

2

: all future generations

Legal Definition

posterity

noun

pos·​ter·​i·​ty pä-ˈster-ə-tē 

1

: all of the lineal descendants of a person

2

: all future generations