posterity
Americannoun
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succeeding or future generations collectively.
Judgment of this age must be left to posterity.
-
all descendants of one person.
His fortune was gradually dissipated by his posterity.
noun
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future or succeeding generations
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all of one's descendants
Etymology
Origin of posterity
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English posterite, from Old French postérité, from Latin posteritāt-, stem of posteritās, noun derivative of posterus “coming after”; posterior, -ity
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.
“It gives us a sense of how Elizabethans recorded music for posterity; how they could relive a musical experience.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
A corner of him still leaned toward the hit parade, but his compass pointed not to the jukebox’s quick spin, but to the slow reward of posterity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
There’s a stirring moment when Mikki frantically draws his memories of Iris and Arco on the wall of a cave for posterity.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
Many of the photographed women look directly at the camera, conscious of their political activity being documented for posterity.
From BBC • Nov. 29, 2025
In effect, if Adams had a different story to tell, if he saw a different pattern in the historical swirl they had both lived through, he should write out his account and let posterity judge.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
