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afterthought

afterthought

30 5.1
A thought or thing that you add later to something already decided
  • noun
  • /ˈæftərˌθɔt/
translation icon : añadido
  • In the meeting, my suggestions felt more like an afterthought rather than a key contribution.
  • almost an afterthought
  • mere afterthought
  • only an afterthought

Then later, not in the same batch, but as an afterthought, will a dragon cross the wall of stones?

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Examples

  • Initially, commercial music seemed an attractive afterthought to this new regime of broadcasting propaganda and other cultural programs.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Sports Illustrated perpetuated the treatment of females as afterthoughts, rather than as central figures in elite sports.

    Academic text (2007)
  • I was something of an afterthought in the family.

  • Assessment is not just an afterthought at the end of the term.

    Academic text (2009)
  • You make me sound like an afterthought.

  • I could stay there another hundred years, and still just be an afterthought.

  • Everything beyond the food is an afterthought, according to Puck.

  • Malina stuck the book in her bag as an afterthought the morning she left Warsaw.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The structure seemed to be an ugly afterthought to the automated design of the U.N.-mandated OHC Station.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • 35 popular elections have transformed Taiwan from an authoritarian afterthought to the cutting edge of Chinese democracy.

    Academic text (2014)

Synonyms

second thought
vsafterthought
35 3.6

A thought that makes you doubt or change a decision you already made

is an extra idea that appears after something is decided or done

How Prepared

backup
367 2.9
fallback
4.4
last resort
69 3.5
alternative
712 3.2
afterthought
30 5.1

Surface Forms

afterthought singular
afterthoughts plural

Morphology

afterthought = thought (transparent) = after + thought

The meaning is a direct combination of 'after' + 'thought': a thought that occurs or is added later. [Postprocessing: moved 'after' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Afterthought is made of after ('after') and thought ('idea'). So, it means an idea or thing you think of or add later, after something is already done.