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belated

American  
[bih-ley-tid] / bɪˈleɪ tɪd /

adjective

  1. coming or being after the customary, useful, or expected time.

    belated birthday greetings.

  2. late, delayed, or detained.

    We started the meeting without the belated representative.

  3. Archaic. obsolete; old-fashioned; out-of-date.

    a belated view of world politics.

  4. Archaic. overtaken by darkness or night.

belated British  
/ bɪˈleɪtɪd /

adjective

  1. late or too late

    belated greetings
"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

Other Word Forms

  • belatedly adverb
  • belatedness noun

Etymology

Origin of belated

First recorded in 1610–20; belate “to delay” ( be- + late ) + -ed 2

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.