How to Use after-the-fact in a Sentence

after-the-fact

adjective
  • That means they’re perfectly aligned from the get-go, with no need for after-the-fact fiddling.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 11 Nov. 2016
  • There is almost no competent after-the-fact remedy for situations such as this.
    — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Schools also have little recourse besides after-the-fact discipline to stop these demonstrations.
    — Cate Charron, IndyStar, 19 Feb. 2026
  • As agents make decisions, trigger workflows and act across systems, security must operate at runtime, not as an after-the-fact review.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Workforce reductions mean payroll data from agencies often arrives late, leading to large, after-the-fact corrections.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Instead, firms rely on voluntary standards, internal ethics teams, and after-the-fact moderation.
    — The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2025
  • When the university chose to no longer recognize the contract, Charters said that after-the-fact agreement was also included.
    — Cate Charron, IndyStar, 24 Sep. 2025
  • The states claim the after-the-fact definition is arbitrary, unlawful, and potentially harmful amid a health care worker shortage.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 20 May 2026
  • Lindsey was arrested on Friday on two accessory-after-the-fact to second-degree murder charges and released the same day on $5,000 bond.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2025
  • Securing this environment requires moving beyond static roles, perimeter defenses and after-the-fact monitoring.
    — Ganesh Kirti, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Simple acceptance criteria and checklists help ensure consistent decisions and prevent governance from becoming an after-the-fact exercise.
    — Keith Ferrazzi, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
  • On the other hand, the Pixel 10 phones deliver more accurate color (especially darker skin tones), better processing, and offer more after-the-fact editing tools.
    — Iyaz Akhtar, PC Magazine, 7 Apr. 2026
  • On the opposite sideline, second-year quarterback Drake Maye can validate after-the-fact his candidacy for Most Valuable Player.
    — Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Though counseling services were quickly offered, critics argue that no amount of after-the-fact support can undo the psychological toll of discovering redundancy through an impersonal system message.
    — Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • The most likely outcome will be assessing an after-the-fact flagrant foul, with Ball and the Hornets moving on to a Friday night all-or-nothing play-in game, with the Heat’s and Adebayo’s season over.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Governance becomes reactive, relying on after-the-fact explanations that slow innovation without improving confidence.
    — Shekhar Iyer, Forbes.com, 4 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'after-the-fact.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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