posthumously

American  

[pos-chuh-muhs-lee, -choo-] / ˈpɒs tʃə məs li, -tʃʊ- /

adverb

1. after a person’s death, typically the death of the author or other artist.

   The sculpture, designed in 1967 by American artist Tony Smith, was exhibited posthumously.

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Etymology

Origin of posthumously

posthumous ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

Posthumously is an adverb that helps describe something that happens to a person after they die, whether it happens to their estate, their life’s work, or the memory of them that remains. The prefix post- means “after,” and the Latin word humus means “ground.” Add the suffix -ly and that lets you use the word to describe some action taken after someone’s dead and in the ground, like posthumously naming a street after a dead politician, or posthumously publishing a new book written by an author who died years ago. The word doesn’t sound how it looks, so pronounce it like this: POSS-chew-muss-lee.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

posthumously

Forgiveness is posthumously granted through cinema, shaving away anything unpleasant that is no longer necessary to dwell on.

From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026

His parents have continued to release his songs posthumously.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

Hall of Fame defensive tackle Steve McMichael, a key member of the Super Bowl XX champion Chicago Bears, has been diagnosed posthumously with Stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the Concussion & CTE Foundation said Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026

Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, had awards and decorations including the Army Service Ribbon, the National Defense Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon, the military said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026

Richardson’s results were published posthumously in a book called The Statistics of Deadly Quarrels.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan