Afterwit
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Afterwit is a noun meaning Wisdom which comes after the event.
Meaning
Wisdom which comes after the event.
More Meanings
- The lack of forethought.
- A good comeback, retort one thinks of only after the end of discussion or after leaving a social gathering.
Example Sentences
After wits are dearely bought, / Let thy fore-wit guide thy thought.
There is always a danger of afterwit in estimating the early achievements of men who have achieved fame […].
Trust me, dear Yorick, this unwary pleasantry of thine will sooner or later bring thee into scrapes and difficulties, which no after-wit can extricate thee out of.
1692, Roger L’Estrange (translator), Fables of Æsop, London: R. Sare et al., Fable 162, “A Nightingale and a Bat,” There’s No Recalling of what’s Gone and Past; so that After-Wit comes too Late when the Mischief is Done.
Word Forms
- afterwits
- after-wit
Antonyms for afterwit
Common opposites include forewit.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include aftersense, afterlife, hindsight, inwit, wisdom, worldwisdom.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.