post hoc
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌpoʊst ˈhɑk/
- Formal
:
post hoc
- Significant ANOVAs were followed by post hoc pairwise comparisons between groups (t-tests and/or Mann-Whitney U tests).
- post hoc reasoning
- post hoc test
- post hoc comparisons
Examples
-
Incrementalist arguments based on one case run the risk of post hoc reasoning.
Academic text (2003) -
Your analysis appears to be completely post hoc.
Blog text (2) -
From a series of post hoc t-tests, a clear pattern emerged.
Academic text (1996) -
It's the post hoc argument that's always seemed selfish to me.
Blog text (3) -
Post hoc analyses revealed several significant paired differences.
Academic text (2002) -
The discovery of scientific limitations and the development of strategies for overcoming them are often made post hoc and perhaps haphazardly.
Academic text (2002) -
Post-hoc analysis suggested a poorer outlook for patients with myocardial infarction, independently of the therapy used.
Academic text (2000) -
The results of a series of post hoc t-tests for the Cuban samples highlighted the possibility of a shared set of values about the limits of multiculturalism.
Academic text (1996) -
Post hoc multiple comparisons using t-tests indicated a significant group difference between controls and children in the CLP MPS group (p = .015).
Academic text (2012) -
The scholar warned against using post hoc reasoning, as it might lead to false conclusions about causation.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Believing that one event caused another just because it happened earlier
Surface Forms
Morphology
post + hoc
The phrase is Latin and literally means 'after this' (post = after; hoc = this), so a learner who knows those constituents could infer a general temporal/retrospective sense. However, its specialized academic meaning — a secondary, exploratory analysis not preplanned or definitive — is a technical extension that cannot be fully predicted from the literal words, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Post hoc comes from Latin and literally means 'after this'. One popular saying was 'post hoc, ergo propter hoc', which gives the image of people thinking A caused B just because A happened first, so today post hoc means that wrong idea.