belated

[ bih-ley-tid ]
See synonyms for: belatedbelatedlybelatedness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. coming or being after the customary, useful, or expected time: belated birthday greetings.

  2. late, delayed, or detained: We started the meeting without the belated representative.

  1. Archaic. obsolete; old-fashioned; out-of-date: a belated view of world politics.

  2. Archaic. overtaken by darkness or night.

Origin of belated

1
First recorded in 1610–20; belate “to delay” (be- + late) + -ed2

Other words from belated

  • be·lat·ed·ly, adverb
  • be·lat·ed·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use belated in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for belated

belated

/ (bɪˈleɪtɪd) /


adjective
  1. late or too late: belated greetings

Derived forms of belated

  • belatedly, adverb
  • belatedness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012