hereafter
Americanadverb
-
after this in time or order; at some future time; farther along.
-
in the time to follow; from now on.
Hereafter I will not accept their calls.
-
in the life or world to come.
noun
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a life or existence after death; the future beyond mortal existence.
-
time to come; the future.
adverb
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formal in a subsequent part of this document, matter, case, etc
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a less common word for henceforth
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at some time in the future
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in a future life after death
noun
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life after death
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the future
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hereafter
before 900; Middle English; Old English hēræfter. See here, after
Explanation
You can use the adverb hereafter to talk about what happens next, after this moment. For example, you might say, "I will hereafter get my homework done in time." When you mean "from now on," you can say hereafter, like when you give a friend a new nickname: "You will hereafter be known as Brostache." Another kind of hereafter is what happens after death. When someone talks specifically about "the hereafter," he usually means heaven or life after death. This is the earliest meaning of the word, and it's often mentioned in religious contexts and at funerals.
Vocabulary lists containing hereafter
The Dawes Act
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Gulliver's Travels
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Hello, Universe
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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.
Hereafter, climate considerations must factor into decisions impacting agency decisions.
From Slate • Nov. 20, 2023
Hereafter, give yourself oxygen — deep breath in, deep breath out — but starve their feud of it.
From Washington Post • Mar. 10, 2023
There were further nominations and awards for his portrayal of lawyer Michael Stephens in critically acclaimed Canadian film The Sweet Hereafter.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2020
Find a way to see The Sweet Hereafter if you want a well-done fictional representation of this phenomenon, be it on a smaller scale.
From New York Times • Apr. 30, 2018
Nevertheless, all his knowledge was powerless to cure the chicken fever of his daughter Pancha, which had dispatched her to the Hereafter.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
