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

Wade' until he belatedly realized it wasn't popular, at which point he came up with his fatuous rationale that "everyone wanted it to go back to the states."

From Salon

But by her reckoning, the system has — belatedly — gotten a few things right: Last year, after reviewing a copy of the recantation, the state released Duran on parole.

From Los Angeles Times

The investigation found that the hotel, which reopened in 2021 after shutting down amid the pandemic, failed to offer back jobs to long-serving employees, or offered employees their jobs back belatedly after hiring others.

From Los Angeles Times

In Shasta, it's taken a long time, but belatedly, there is now pushback.

From Salon

Almost exactly two months after the funerals, Zambia's 1994 World Cup qualifying campaign belatedly began against Morocco in Lusaka.

From BBC

Related Words

• slowly