belated
UK /bɪˈleɪtɪd/ · US /bəˈleɪtɪd/ adjective
- adjective Affected or overtaken by the lateness of the time; hence, synonym of benighted (“overtaken by night; caught out by oncoming night before reaching one's destination”).
- adjective Later in relation to the proper time which something should have happened; specifically, delayed beyond the proper time. “A belated happy birthday to you!”
- adjective (figurative) Slow to learn or to adopt a trend; hence, lacking education or sophistication; benighted, unenlightened, unsophisticated.
Synonyms
lated nighted tardive tardy late backward behindhand overdue uneducated benighted cimmerian clueless foolish ignorant ill-informed illiterate innocent lack-learning lay lewd
Antonyms
Etymology
From belate (verb) + -ed (suffix forming adjectives, and past tense and past participle forms of regular verbs).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “belated”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details