posthumouspost‧hu‧mous /ˈpɒstjəməs $ ˈpɑːstʃə-/ adjective 
a posthumous collection of his articles—posthumously adverb: He was posthumously awarded the Military Cross.
WORD ORIGINposthumous
Origin:
1600-1700 Late Latin posthumus, from Latin postumus ‘late-born’, from posterus; ➔ POSTERIOR1EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Bentley's relatives are demanding a posthumous pardon from the government.
- But good conduct now can bring posthumous promotion or vice versa.
- Even the human being whose body it was may not be injured by its posthumous condition.
- It was a dead hand, waving a tiny, posthumous good-bye.
- Making sense of his status as a postmodern social icon is as difficult as understanding his posthumous deification by millions of fans.
- No posthumous awards are given, except for gallantry.
- Now her final play, 4.48 Psychosis, gets a posthumous production at the same address.
- The political and the literary are as inextricably merged in Nizan's posthumous existence as they were in his lived existence.
Longman Language Activatordarkness
someone or something that is dead has stopped living: · She's no longer breathing - I think she's dead.· The dead man's wife was questioned by police.· The doctor told him that unless he stopped drinking he would be dead within a year.· It was autumn, and the path was covered in dead leaves.· These flowers look dead - shall I throw them away?· Following the shoot-out six people were dead and three were wounded.dead on arrival (=already dead when arriving at a hospital): · One of the gunshot victims was pronounced dead on arrival at City Hospital.
formal use this as a polite way of talking about someone who has died, especially someone who died recently: somebody's late husband/wife/mother/father: · She set up the fund in memory of her late husband.the late President Marcos/John Lennon etc: · He is a big fan of reggae music and the late Bob Marley.
informal completely dead - use this when you are completely certain that someone or something is dead: · By the time we found him he was stone-dead.· Tom poked the bird with a stick. "Yeah, it's as dead as a doornail."
something that is lifeless shows no sign of life - use this about someone's body, or someone's hand or face: · He took the dead girl's hand. It felt cold and lifeless.· The men found Dunlap's lifeless body slumped in the front seat of his car.
especially written people who have died - use this especially about people who died in wars or accidents: · a religious service to commemorate the dead of two World Wars· Four of the dead had been travelling in the same car.· Ordinary Americans are beginning the heart-breaking task of counting their dead.
formal a dead person, especially one who has died recently - used especially in news reports and legal contexts: · The deceased died from an overdose of diet pills.
given to someone or done for someone after they die: · Bentley's relatives are demanding a posthumous pardon from the government.
spoken if someone is pushing up daisies , they are dead - used humorously: · He talks about spending his parents' money as if they were already pushing up daisies.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He was posthumously awarded the Military Cross.
happening, printed etc after someone’s death: He was posthumously awarded the Military Cross. a posthumous collection of his articles—posthumously adverb: He was posthumously awarded the Military Cross.