Meaning & use
subsequent development
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
Something that happens or grows later, after an earlier event or stage.
Grammar: Often used with the: the subsequent development of the disease.
Patterns
- subsequent development of something
- a subsequent development in something
- subsequent developments
The subsequent development of the project was delayed by bad weather.
Doctors watched the patient closely for any subsequent development of symptoms.
Subsequent developments in the case surprised everyone.
noununcountable
The process of growing, improving, or changing after an earlier point.
Grammar: Often followed by of: the subsequent development of language skills.
Patterns
- subsequent development of something
- subsequent development in something
The subsequent development of the child's speech was rapid.
Subsequent development in the industry has been driven by technology.
Word forms
| plural | subsequent developments |
|---|
Common combinations
- subsequent development of
- The subsequent development of the vaccine took years.
- a subsequent development in
- A subsequent development in the story changed everything.
- any subsequent development
- We will inform you of any subsequent development.
- subsequent developments
- Subsequent developments proved him right.
Synonyms and how they differ
- later event
- More general and countable; often used for single happenings rather than a process.
- follow-up
- Often used for an action taken after something, not for natural growth.
Opposites
Word family
- subsequently adverb
- Means 'later' or 'afterwards'.
- develop verb
- To grow or make something grow.
- development noun
- The process of growing or improving.
Commonly confused: subsequent development or subsequence?
subsequent development vs subsequence
A technical term in mathematics meaning a sequence within a sequence; not used for events.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'subsequent development' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase 'subsequent development of the disease' correctly uses 'of' to show what is developing. Option 2 is missing 'of'. Option 3 is less natural because 'in' is not the usual preposition here. Option 4 is missing 'the' before 'disease', which is needed for a specific disease.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “subsequent development”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.