ex post
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of ex post
1635–45; < Latin: from (what lies) behind, according to (what lies) behind
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.
No relevant precedent existed, and given the unique crimes the Nazi hierarchy had committed, it would require ex post facto laws to prosecute them.
From Salon • May 18, 2026
The effects have been so strong that the Fed, in a heroic feat of ex post facto rationalization, has begun to think of asset prices as another transmission mechanism for its balance-sheet policy instrument.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
“This is a violation of the ex post facto clause of the constitution,” said Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers.
From Washington Times • Feb. 10, 2023
"A greater ex ante national ownership of the design of fiscal trajectories could be balanced by a stronger ex post enforcement at EU level," he said.
From Reuters • Oct. 10, 2022
There is reason to believe that recollection was an ex post facto elaboration; those on the scene recall a sensation more suggestive of relief and euphoria in the air.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
