afterword

American  

[af-ter-wurd, ahf-] / ˈæf tərˌwɜrd, ˈɑf- /

noun

1. a concluding section, commentary, etc., as of a book, treatise, or the like; closing statement.

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afterword British  

/ ˈɑːftəˌwɜːd /

noun

1. an epilogue or postscript in a book, etc

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Etymology

Origin of afterword

First recorded in 1885–90; after + word

Explanation

In a book, the afterword comes at the very end and tells you something about how it came to be written. The afterword is often written by someone other than the book's author. An afterword is similar to a foreword — the only difference is that it comes at the end of a text, instead of at the beginning. Unlike an epilogue, which wraps up a story, an afterword is separate from the narrative, and it's rarely written by the author. Instead, it's commentary by another writer that gives the reader extra information about how the book was developed, how it fits into a historical context, or biographical details about its author.

Example Sentences

Afterword, Roberts’ only comment regarding Urías horrible outing was, “He needed to give us five innings, and he did that.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2021

His daughter, Sarah, a novelist in her own right, offers an impeccable Afterword, masterly in its economy and weight.

From The Guardian • Jun. 15, 2013

By Posted Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, at 7:34 AM ET Subscribe in iTunes ∙ Play in another tab This episode of The Afterword is brought to you by Audible.

From Slate • Nov. 22, 2012

“To be frank, I had hesitation about the book Heart of Glass, because I did not like the tone of adulation toward me,” Herzog writes in an Afterword, implicitly endorsing this more nuanced portrait.

From Salon • Aug. 28, 2012

The day before yesterday I read his "Afterword."

From Letters of Anton Chekhov by Garnett, Constance