Synonyms

post hoc

American

[pohst hohk, pohst hok] / ˈpoʊst ˈhoʊk, ˈpoʊst ˈhɒk /

adverb

Latin.

after this; afterward.

post hoc British

/ ˈpəʊst ˈhɒk /

noun

logic the fallacy of assuming that temporal succession is evidence of causal relation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Mr. Buruma resists glib post hoc censure, acknowledging that German civilians “lived in constant fear of their own government.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 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

You wrote about something called the post hoc fallacy.

From Slate • Jan. 23, 2023

It was indeed in the Spanish interest to exaggerate the extent of human sacrifice, because ending what Cortes called this “most horrid and abominable custom” became a post hoc rationale for conquest.

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