postbellum
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of postbellum
First recorded in 1870–75, postbellum is from Latin post bellum “after the war”
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.
Although North Korea has relentlessly suppressed religion and vilified American missionaries, the origins of this hereditary cult are found in a surprising place: Protestant Christianity, and in particular, postbellum American Presbyterianism.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
The movie drew controversy for its depiction of postbellum plantation life and has never been released on home video or streaming as a result.
From Washington Times • Dec. 3, 2022
For a prosperous Black man in postbellum Arkansas, there are plenty of good reasons to shut out curious strangers.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2022
“Despite the determined efforts of the postwar Reconstruction Congress to establish civil equality for freed slaves,” the report intones, “the postbellum South ended up devolving into a system that was hardly better than slavery.”
From Slate • Jan. 19, 2021
That is why the postbellum terrors of reconstruction were practically unknown in the State.
From The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by Fox, John
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.
