after

adverb · adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Behind or in the rear.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

aftur

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈæftɚ

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

Behind or in the rear
Behind; later in time; following.

adjective

(nautical or aeronautical, where the frame of reference is within the craft) At or towards the stern of a ship or the rear of an aircraft.

noun

Of before-and-after images: the one that shows the difference after a specified treatment.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Behind or in the rear

Used this way, after is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

soon afterimmediately aftershortly afterafter some

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

after alladverbCompound term
Emphasizes something to be considered.
after a fashionadverbCompound term
To some extent.
after-shave lotionnounCompound term
A fragrant lotion for a man's face after shaving.
after-shavenounCompound term
A fragrant lotion for a man's face after shaving.
after partnounCompound term
The rear part of a ship.
after hoursadverbCompound term
Not during regular hours.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

afterlifenounRelated term
Life after death.
afterglownounRelated term
A glow sometimes seen in the sky after sunset.
aftershocknounRelated term
A tremor (or one of a series of tremors) occurring after the main shock of an earthquake.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.