ensuing
Americanadjective
adjective
-
following subsequently or in order
-
following or occurring as a consequence; resulting
Other Word Forms
- ensuingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of ensuing
Explanation
If you go snowboarding in a leotard, prepare for an ensuing cold. Ensuing means "coming right after, or as a result of something that happened." Ensuing is the adjective form of the verb ensue, which comes from the Old French ensuivre, which means "following in." We usually use it to show cause and effect. Blame your entrepreneurial friend who takes bets in the lunchroom for the ensuing crackdown on employee gambling. An ensuing event happens right after its cause. If a dog bites you when you're eight, and twenty years later you start having nightmares about dog bites, those aren't ensuing nightmares. They're surfacing memories.
Vocabulary lists containing ensuing
I, Robot
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"Say It with Flowers" and "The Journey"
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Outcasts United
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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.
That mission, and the ensuing lunar voyages, led to what experts at the time called the "Apollo generation" - a whole age group of children who set their sights on the stars.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
That skepticism represents the so-called wall of worry that the ensuing rally can climb.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
With opposition factions still standing defiant after the poll, the conflict and ensuing humanitarian crisis show no sign of abating.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
The best picture blunder has kept “Moonlight” and “La La Land” under the microscope for nine years now, and made the incident the blueprint for each ensuing Oscar season’s inevitable drama.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026
Deeming Sunday the best day for taking Mr. Wemmick’s Walworth sentiments, I devoted the next ensuing Sunday afternoon to a pilgrimage to the Castle.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
