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late

late

292 3.9
Used for a person who died recently
  • adjective
  • /leɪt/
translation icon : 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.

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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.

  • My late husband loved gambling.

  • 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?

  • That was Julia, the late Julia Child.

  • The late, great Groucho Marx.

  • The late Nelson Mandela fought for justice and equality in South Africa.

Synonyms

feu
vslate
  • Archaic
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
departed
vslate
  • Formal
4.2

No longer living and often remembered

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

Antonyms

1.0

Still present and not dead

Idioms

91 3.3

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

Until very late at night

16 3.5

Recently, in the past few weeks or months

8 7.1

Joining after others have already started something important

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

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

Compounds

84 3.9

Happening or done after most people go to bed

42 2.0

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

11 4.6

A person who shows skill or talent later than others

11 3.9

A recent car or truck made in the last few years

10 3.1

An extra charge you pay when a payment is late

tad late
  • Informal
1 7.6

A little after the time you should arrive

The late part of the night when most people are asleep

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

late blight
  • Specialized
7.3

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

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

late unpleasantness
  • Literature
9.0

A recent time of trouble or bad events

A plant that flowers later than most, often in autumn

Something that develops or succeeds later than usual

Late Greek
  • Specialized
9.5

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

Late Greek language
  • Specialized
9.9

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

Late Latin
  • Specialized
9.9

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

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

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

Show important talent or success later than usual in life

late-ripening
  • Specialized
5.6

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

late-spring-blooming
  • Specialized
3.9

A plant that has flowers in the later part of spring

motherfunking late
  • Offensive
9.9

Arriving much later than expected and making people angry

A polite or ironic name for the American Civil War

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.