afterwards

Meaning

1. 1adverbnot comparable

   At a later time than something already mentioned; following that event.

   Grammar: Goes at the start or end of a clause: Afterwards we ate. We ate afterwards.

   Patterns

   • shortly afterwards
   • soon afterwards
   • afterwards, someone does something

   We watched the match, and afterwards we all went for pizza.

   She felt much calmer afterwards.

   Call me when the meeting finishes and I will explain everything afterwards.

Common combinations

shortly afterwards

The film began and, shortly afterwards, the power went out.

soon afterwards

He moved to Spain and soon afterwards found a job.

long afterwards

Long afterwards, she still remembered the kindness of the stranger.

immediately afterwards

Immediately afterwards, the crowd began to cheer.

a week afterwards

He called again a week afterwards.

Synonyms and how they differ

later

Later is the most flexible everyday choice and does not need an earlier event to be mentioned, whereas afterwards looks back to one.

subsequently

Subsequently is more formal and appears mostly in writing about a sequence of events.

then

Then is shorter and can mean the next step in a list, while afterwards covers a longer gap.

thereafter

Thereafter is formal and often used in legal or official texts, so it sounds stiff in conversation.

Opposites

Word family

afterward adverb

the American spelling of afterwards

after preposition

later than

aftermath noun

the period following a bad event

afterthought noun

an idea that comes later

Commonly confused: afterwards or after?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “afterwards”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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