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   Late

   /lāt/

   

   adjective

   • 1. doing something or taking place after the expected, proper, or usual time: "his late arrival" Similar behind timebehind schedulebehindbehindhandnot on timeunpunctualtardyrunning lateoverduelong-overduedelayedlong-delayedbelatedslowdilatoryOpposite punctualearlyfast
   • 2. belonging or taking place near the end of a particular time or period: "they won the game with a late goal"
   • ▪ denoting or belonging to the advanced stage of a historical period or cultural movement: "the late 1960s"
   • ▪ far on in the day or night: "I'm sorry the call is so late"
   • ▪ flowering or ripening toward the end of the season: "the last late chrysanthemums"
   • 3. (of a specified person) no longer alive: "her late husband's grave" Similar deaddeceaseddepartedlamentedpassed on/awaylostexpiredgoneextinctperishedOpposite aliveexisting
   • ▪ no longer having the specified status; former: "a late colleague of mine" Similar previousprecedingformerpastpriorearlieras wassometimeone-timeex-erstwhileolddefunctprecedentforegoingno longer extantci-devantformal:quondamarchaic:whilomOpposite current

   adverb

   • 1. after the expected, proper, or usual time: "she arrived late" Similar behind schedulebehind timebehindhandunpunctuallybelatedlytardilyat the last minuteat the tail enddilatorilyslowlyrecentlyafter hoursafter office hoursovertimepast the usual finishing/stopping/closing timeOpposite earlybetimes
   • 2. far on in time; toward the end of a period: "it happened late in 1984"
   • ▪ at or until a time far on in the day or night: "now I'm old enough to stay up late" Similar late at nighttill the early hours of the morninginformal:till the wee small hourstill all hoursuntil stupid o'clock
   • 3. formerly but not now living or working in a specified place or institution: "Captain Falconer, late of the British army"

   Word Origin Old Englishlæt (adjective; also in the sense ‘slow, tardy’), late (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to German lass, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin lassus ‘weary’, let1, and let2.

   Scrabble Points: 4

   • L

     1

   • A

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

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