post hoc
Americanadverb
noun
Etymology
Origin of post hoc
from Latin, short for Post hoc ergo propter hoc after this, therefore on account of this
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.
Supervisors, in turn, develop expertise that an arm’s-length regulator can’t match from periodic filings or post hoc investigations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Indeed, it was only after Wickstrom directly raised his illegal termination with Bosco that Bosco attempted an investigation to come up with a post hoc justification for Wickstrom’s termination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025
Another security factor could come from improving post hoc detectors that look for inadvertent artifacts of AI generation.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 8, 2023
As has been pointed out on social media — with all the post hoc bumptiousness of reply guys — International Olympic Committee rules dictate that mascots are not supposed to speak at all.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2022
Asserting that De Soto’s visit caused the subsequent collapse of the Caddo and Coosa may be only the old logical fallacy of post hoc ergo propter hoc.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
