Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having been delayed; done or sent too late.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Coming or staying too late; overtaken by lateness, especially at night; benighted; delayed.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Delayed beyond the usual time; too late; overtaken by night; benighted.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Later in relation to the proper time something should have happened.
  • verb Simple past tense and past participle of belate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective after the expected or usual time; delayed

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[be– + lated.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word belated.

Examples

  • There is doubt, though, about a medal Cotta received nearly three years ago in belated recognition of his heroism, the Distinguished

    Bruce Cotta 2010

  • Slept and read, bought groceries, hot tub, finally scraping together enough energy to cook some Indian food in belated recognition of my wife's birthday.

    Crash and burn David 2007

  • Slept and read, bought groceries, hot tub, finally scraping together enough energy to cook some Indian food in belated recognition of my wife's birthday.

    Archive 2007-08-01 David 2007

  • Byron later snags one of the Mormons, who is wallowing in belated guilt for his romp in the land of alternative lifestyles, and stuff him with an LSD-laced hot dog.

    Current Movie Reviews, Independent Movies - Film Threat 2002

  • Replacing his note-book in his pocket, he called a belated carriage, and hastily gave orders to be taken to the Clifton House.

    That Mainwaring Affair

  • Dressed in a golf shirt, his face the picture of bureaucratic indemnity,Mr. Wang faced an unusually combative news conference during which reporters asked why government workers had hastily buried a damaged rail car rather then preserve it for investigators (it made rescue work easier, he said and why an unconscious 2-year-old girl was found in the wreckage long after officials had abandoned the search for survivors (he called the belated discovery "a miracle."

    NYT > Home Page By ANDREW JACOBS 2011

  • McCoy had fully embraced the idea of belated fatherhood his declarations to the contrary notwithstanding.

    The Better Man Weinstein, Howard 1994

  • Communist effort of 1871 may be termed a belated attempt on the part of

    The Development of the European Nations, 1870-1914 (5th ed.) John Holland Rose 1898

  • And considering that she won the Yehudi Menuhin Competition at age 11, her debut on the Schubert Club's International Artist Series could almost be called "belated."

    www.startribune.com 2012

  • (belated, that is) (Reply to this) (Thread) ccfinlay

    ccfinlay: You say it's your birthday? ccfinlay 2005

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Card.

    October 24, 2009