ex post facto

[ eks-pohst fak-toh ]
See synonyms for ex post facto on Thesaurus.com
adverb
  1. from or by subsequent action; retroactively; subsequently; retrospectively.

adjective
  1. having retroactive force; made or done subsequently: an ex post facto law.

Origin of ex post facto

1
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin: “from a thing done afterward, from what is done afterward”

Words that may be confused with ex post facto

Words Nearby ex post facto

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

How to use ex post facto in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ex post facto

ex post facto

/ (ɛks pəʊst ˈfæktəʊ) /


adjective
  1. having retrospective effect: an ex post facto law

Origin of ex post facto

1
C17: from Latin ex from + post afterwards + factus done, from facere to do

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

Cultural definitions for ex post facto (1 of 2)

ex post facto

[ (eks pohst fak-toh) ]


An explanation or regulation concocted after the event, sometimes misleading or unjust: “Your ex post facto defense won't stand up in court.” (See ex post facto law.) From Latin, meaning “after the deed.”

ex post facto

[ (eks pohst fak-toh) ]


A descriptive term for an explanation or a law that is made up after an event and then applied to it: “The chairman's description of his plan sounds like an ex post facto attempt to justify an impulsive action.” Ex post facto is Latin for “from after the deed.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.