posterity
noun
pos·ter·i·ty
pä-ˈster-ə-tē 
1
: the offspring of one progenitor to the furthest generation
2
: all future generations
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.
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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.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Mookie Betts gets final chance to catch Ronald Acuña Jr. in MVP race
Sept. 27, 2023
Acuña was allowed to remove the base to save for posterity, while another was put in its place on the field.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
The initial post with Lil Uzi Vert was up on the Wilkes-Barre PD page long enough for the incident to be wildly commented on and screen-shotted for posterity.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2023
Captured for posterity, there was a former president of the United States, for the first time in history, under arrest and captured in the sort of frame more commonly associated with drug dealers or drunken drivers.
—Jonathan J. Cooper, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2023
The idea, in essence: grab stuff before it’s gone and let posterity sweat the appraisals.
—Bruce Handy, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
There are 12 bottles total—six are full-sized and six are 50 ml miniatures—which is great news for collectors who want to hold onto these for posterity (or to flip at a future date) and still sample the whisky.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 18 Aug. 2023
The Discovery ends with Wilkins prophesying that posterity will likely be surprised at the ignorance of his age.
—Maria Avxentevskaya, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2017
While both are smiling in the snap — in which Colson is taking a pic of Casie’s design on his phone for posterity — the series of images do not reveal the teen’s handiwork.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 21 June 2023
The staff removed almost the entire museum collection soon after Russia invaded, preserving for posterity the tangible evidence of Skovoroda’s Ukrainian heritage.
—Martin Kuz, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Apr. 2023
See More
Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
The initial post with Lil Uzi Vert was up on the Wilkes-Barre PD page long enough for the incident to be wildly commented on and screen-shotted for posterity.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2023
Captured for posterity, there was a former president of the United States, for the first time in history, under arrest and captured in the sort of frame more commonly associated with drug dealers or drunken drivers.
—Jonathan J. Cooper, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2023
The idea, in essence: grab stuff before it’s gone and let posterity sweat the appraisals.
—Bruce Handy, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
There are 12 bottles total—six are full-sized and six are 50 ml miniatures—which is great news for collectors who want to hold onto these for posterity (or to flip at a future date) and still sample the whisky.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 18 Aug. 2023
The Discovery ends with Wilkins prophesying that posterity will likely be surprised at the ignorance of his age.
—Maria Avxentevskaya, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2017
While both are smiling in the snap — in which Colson is taking a pic of Casie’s design on his phone for posterity — the series of images do not reveal the teen’s handiwork.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 21 June 2023
The staff removed almost the entire museum collection soon after Russia invaded, preserving for posterity the tangible evidence of Skovoroda’s Ukrainian heritage.
—Martin Kuz, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'posterity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of posterity was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near posterity
Cite this Entry
“Posterity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/posterity. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
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
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