after all

1. Despite everything, nevertheless, as in The plane took off half an hour late but landed on time after all .

2. After everything else has been considered, ultimately, as in Mary has final approval of the guest list; after all, it's her wedding . The two usages are pronounced differently, the first giving stress to the word after and the second to the word all . Both date from the early 1700s. Also see when all is said and done .

Example Sentences

But Liverpool were good enough to have won it last season - PSG needed a shootout to beat them after all - and spent almost half a billion pounds strengthening again.

From BBC

This time, he won, after all other opposition candidates had been excluded by the military leaders who had seized power.

From BBC

Nepalis in India, after all, fall broadly into three groups.

From BBC

Only after all appeals have been exhausted can someone be sent to prison in Brazil.

From BBC

“Now that we’ve talked about it after all these years, he says to me, ‘And what do you think?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• already 
• belatedly 
• eventually 
• someday 
• sooner or later 
• subsequently 
• ultimately