posthumously

adverb

post·​hu·​mous·​ly ˈpäs-chə-məs-lē How to pronounce posthumously (audio)
also -tə-, 
-tyə-, 
-thə-;
päst-ˈhyü-məs-, 
ˈpōst-, 
-ˈyü-
: after the death of the person in question
a book published posthumously
a medal awarded posthumously
Plath's magnificent Ariel, written mostly during the final months of her life and assembled posthumously by Hughes, takes the notion of confessional poetry to verbal and imaginative extremes.—Christopher Benfey
Flannery O'Connor united both traditions and is duly, albeit posthumously, celebrated.—Walker Percy

Examples of posthumously in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
He was posthumously promoted to sergeant at the funeral and received the Philadelphia Police Department's Medal of Honor and Purple Heart. — Ross Dimattei, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 This April, nearly 50 years after the balloon crash, she was posthumously inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026 Now Fred Lorenzen — another Hall of Fame NASCAR driver — has been diagnosed posthumously with CTE, according to a statement Tuesday from his children, Chris Lorenzen and Amanda Lorenzen Gardstrom. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 Clinton posthumously awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal for his moral leadership and Bush invited a group of Rabbis to the Oval Office to recognize him for his commitment to education, also posthumously. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for posthumously

Word History

First Known Use

1754, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of posthumously was in 1754

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Posthumously.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/posthumously. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster