posterior
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Nearer the rear or hind end.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pawstiryerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pɔsˈtɪɹjɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
anatomy
Nearer the rear or hind end; nearer the caudal end of the body in quadrupeds or the dorsal end in bipeds.
medicine
Relating to or denoting presentation of a fetus in which the rear or caudal end is nearest the cervix and emerges first at birth.
formal
Following in order or in time.
noun
The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Nearer the rear or hind end; nearer the caudal end of the body in quadrupeds or the dorsal end in bipeds.
Used this way, posterior is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use posterior
- “The doctor examined the posterior part of the patient's leg.”adjective
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Arises from the basilar artery.
Posterior branch of the facial vein.
One of two roots of a spinal nerve that passes dorsally from the spinal cord and that consists of sensory fibers.
Veins that pass posterior from the labia majora to the internal pudendal vein.
Branch of the ascending pharyngeal artery that supplies the dura mater of the posterior cranial fossa.
Either one of the two posterior openings at the back of the nasal cavity leading to the nasopharynx.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Veins that pass posterior from the labia majora to the internal pudendal vein.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Antonyms
Sense: nearer the rear or hind end
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “posterior” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
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.