afterthought
Americannoun
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a later or second thought; reconsideration.
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reflection after an act; an appropriate explanation, answer, expedient, or the like, conceived of too late for the occasion.
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something added, as a part or feature, that was not included in the original plan or design.
The vestry was added to the church as an afterthought.
noun
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a comment, reply, etc, that occurs to one after the opportunity to deliver it has passed
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an addition to something already completed
Etymology
Origin of afterthought
Explanation
An afterthought is something you think of or add later. You might quickly wrap a gift and then stick a bow on it as an afterthought just before you hand it to the birthday boy. Sometimes calling something an afterthought is a bit of an insult — a movie reviewer might complain that female characters seem added on as afterthoughts, or a diner at a fancy restaurant could note that while the meat is well-cooked, the vegetables are nothing but an afterthought. This word has been used since the 1600s, a compound of after and thought.
Vocabulary lists containing afterthought
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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I Can Make This Promise
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dear Amy: Wow, you really missed the mark to "Family Afterthought," who was having a milestone birthday on Thanksgiving this year and wanted to finally have a birthday and not share it with a holiday.
From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2021
To Sell Apartments, Furnishing Is No Afterthought It wasn’t just the swinging chair, strung from the ceiling, that was distracting.
From New York Times • Oct. 4, 2010
A Negro community group from Chicago's South Side tells the Christmas story in original contemporary soul music in "Time Is Running Out: An Afterthought to Christmas," a swinging look at the season.
From Time Magazine Archive
His name was Prometheus, which means Forethought; his brother’s was Epimetheus, or Afterthought; their father was Iapetus.
From Aunt Charlotte's Stories of Greek History by Yonge, Charlotte Mary
"I always begin," said Ethelinda Afterthought, "with a study."
From Frenzied Fiction by Leacock, Stephen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
