thereafter

USthair-AF-tur/ˌðɛɹˈæf.tɚ/UKthair-AHF-tuh/ˌðɛəɹˈɑːf.tə(ɹ)/

3 meanings of thereafter

1
adverb
After a particular point or event, and continuing from then on.
The treaty was signed in 1815, and the border region stayed peaceful thereafter.
He stepped down as director in 2010 and devoted himself to teaching thereafter.
Similarafterward, afterwards, subsequently, later, thenceforth
Oppositepreviously, beforehand
2
nounrareusually singular
Future existence; the time or state still to come.
No one in the village could say what the thereafter might bring.
She saved carefully, always mindful of the thereafter rather than the present moment.
Similarhereafter
Oppositepast
3
nounrareusually singular
Existence after death; the state a soul is held to enter once life ends.
The grieving family clung to the hope of a brighter thereafter.
A mimed sequence might enliven Johnny's visit to the great thereafter; or the battle royal might be painted on a backdrop.
2022, Jody Enders, Immaculate Deception and Further Ribaldries
Similarhereafter

Use it in a sentence

Write your own sentence with thereafter, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.

Origin

From Middle English therafter, from Old English þǣræfter ("after that; thereafter"), which is simply "there" plus "after." It is related to Dutch daarachter, German Low German daarachter, Danish derefter, and Swedish därefter.