belated

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a noun

   Arriving or done after the proper or expected time.

   Grammar: Almost always comes before a noun: a belated reply.

   Patterns

   • a belated something

   Please accept my belated birthday wishes.

   The company issued a belated apology to its customers.

   He made a belated attempt to repair the fence.

2. 2adjectivebefore a noun

   Showing that someone has realized or acted on something far later than they should have.

   Grammar: Often describes a late realization: a belated recognition.

   Patterns

   • a belated recognition of something

   The writer won belated recognition after her death.

   The mayor offered a belated thank you to volunteers.

   There was a belated effort to warn residents.

Common combinations

belated birthday

I bought her a belated birthday present.

belated apology

His belated apology was still welcome.

belated thanks

Belated thanks for the lovely dinner last month.

belated recognition

The scientist finally received belated recognition.

belated response

I'm sorry for my belated response to your email.

Synonyms and how they differ

late

Late is the plain everyday word, while belated is more formal and suggests something should have come sooner.

overdue

Overdue stresses that something should already have been done, often a payment or task.

tardy

Tardy is usually about people arriving late and can sound mildly critical.

delayed

Delayed points to an outside cause holding something up, whereas belated just notes the lateness.

Opposites

Word family

belatedly adverb

later than should have happened

belatedness noun

the quality of being late (rare)

belate verb

an old verb meaning to make late

Commonly confused: belated or belittled?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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