🚆 Delayed 🏁 Near the end ⏰ After expected time 🕊️ Recently dead 🕒 Recently 🆕 Recent

late

268 3.9

Used for a person who died recently

adjective
/leɪt/

: fallecido

Her dad, the late actor John Barrymore Jr., left before she was born.
late husband
the late John

Ned Gramlich is not a prophet or the late Ned Gramlich was not a prophet.

Autoplay Next

Examples

Here, the reflections of the late Wayne Booth are particularly enlightening.

Academic text (2008)
It's called Algebra, and it was written by the late Serge Lang.
I can see you take after your dear late mother.

Werewolf Cabal (2022)
My late husband loved gambling.

80 for Brady (2023)
Well, shout out to the great late David Stern.
I'm getting a pink heart for my late friend Lynn Dale.
Are these photographs of the late Mr. Dietrichson?

Double Indemnity (1944)
That was Julia, the late Julia Child.
The late, great Groucho Marx.

Analyze That (2002)
The late Nelson Mandela fought for justice and equality in South Africa.

Synonyms

departed

vslate

Formal

5 4.2

No longer living and often remembered

refers specifically to someone who died recently and is used before their name

feu

vslate

Archaic

1 9.9

Word used before a dead person's name to show they are dead

is used before a person's name to mean someone who died recently without legal formality

Antonyms

alive

∞ 1.0

Still present and not dead

Idioms

of late

81 3.3

Happening in the recent past, in the last few weeks or months

as of late

21 3.5

Recently, in the past few weeks or months

late into the night

12 2.7

Until very late at night

late to the party

Informal

9 7.1

Joining after others have already started something important

fashionably late

8 4.8

Arriving a little after the set time on purpose to look stylish

late for one's own funeral

Informal

8.8

Very likely to arrive after the expected time because they are often not on time

Compounds

late night

332 2.0

A time late in the evening when people stay awake to work or finish tasks

late-night

171 3.9

Happening or done after most people go to bed

late model

14 3.9

A recent car or truck made in the last few years

late fee

13 3.1

An extra charge you pay when a payment is late

late bloomer

13 4.6

A person who shows skill or talent later than others

late-night hour

1 3.7

The late part of the night when most people are asleep

late-blooming

1 4.8

Something that develops or succeeds later than usual

tad late

Informal

1 7.6

A little after the time you should arrive

late-blooming

1 4.7

A plant that flowers later than most, often in autumn

late unpleasantness

Literature

1 9.0

A recent time of trouble or bad events

Late Latin

Specialized

1 9.9

A form of Latin used from the 3rd to the 8th century that links Classical and Medieval Latin

late blight

Specialized

1 7.3

A serious plant disease that attacks potatoes and tomatoes late in the growing season

the late unpleasantness

Archaic

1 9.9

A polite or ironic name for the American Civil War

late-night karaoke

1 4.6

A time when people sing with recorded music in a bar late at night

late-ripening

Specialized

1 5.6

A plant or fruit that becomes ripe late in the growing season, often in fall

late-flowering

1 4.4

Plants that bloom late in the growing season, often in autumn

Late Greek

Specialized

1 9.5

A form of Greek used from the third to the eighth centuries

late-flowering

1 6.8

Show important talent or success later than usual in life

late-spring-blooming

Specialized

1 3.9

A plant that has flowers in the later part of spring

late purple aster

9.9

A wildflower that has purple flowers like a daisy in late summer and fall

Late Greek language

Specialized

9.9

A form of Greek used in speech and writing from the 3rd to the 8th centuries AD

late-night dance marathon

5.5

A long party where people dance late at night for many hours

motherfunking late

Offensive

9.9

Arriving much later than expected and making people angry

Surface Forms

late positive

later comparative

latest superlative

Etymology

Late used before a name comes from the idea of 'recent' or 'not long ago' (see lately), so calling someone 'the late Mr Smith' means Mr Smith has 'recently' died.