belatedly

[ bih-ley-tid-lee ]

adverb

1. after the customary, useful, or expected time:

   If a law shouldn't have been passed in the first place, it's no crime to belatedly reverse it.

   I received your letter last month, and I wanted to thank you, even if belatedly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of belatedly¹

belated ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The Pac-12’s belated start meant its playoff hopes were going to ride heavily on whether somebody — and “somebody” was assumed to be Oregon — would bash everyone in its way.

From Washington Post

Speaking with reporters Thursday, he did not rule out taking action against the General Services Administration at a future date to force a belated recognition of his presidential transition.

From Washington Post

Apple’s belated embrace of the technology will go a long way toward taking it mainstream.

From Fortune

Because of its sensitivity to controversy, the Nobel committee has a habit of awarding belated prizes … sometimes decades late.

From Ozy

To skywatchers, though, chiaroscuro was just an extremely belated recognition of a natural truth that their predecessors had discovered millennia earlier.

From Nautilus

He appeared to understand however belatedly that he was in the presence of another kind of greatness.

From The Daily Beast

Marrero himself was hardly a “cup of coffee” relic or a minor character belatedly retrieved from the dustbin of baseball history.

From The Daily Beast

The closings continued for three more days, ending only when the executive director, Patrick Foye, belatedly stepped in.

From The Daily Beast

Boston, however, has sadly and belatedly proven him right, at least to a degree.

From The Daily Beast

His absence left tongues wagging, and Romney showed up at a march he belatedly called himself a week later.

From The Daily Beast

Belatedly, Ruiz made radio contact with the doughnut, which was still well within range.

From Project Gutenberg

The rifle came up—and dropped back again as Alexander belatedly pretended that she had not seen him.

From Project Gutenberg

Belatedly, Brad recalled that the Cub leader and Mr. Holloway had expected to make a brief trip that morning to the mainland.

From Project Gutenberg

"There's a lot uh cake you boys might just as well eat up," the Countess called belatedly.

From Project Gutenberg

Belatedly, he knew that the cutout which he held dangling, resembled Pillbot in outline.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• slowly