Afterthink
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To think about after the fact, reflect on.
- 2 To repent, or feel remorse for; to regret.
"Do not afterthink except for poetic or P.S. reasons. Never afterthink to "improve" or defray impressions, as the best writing is always the most painful personal wrung-out tossed from cradle warm protective mind – tap from yourself the song of yourself, blow! – now! [...]"
Example
More examples"Do not afterthink except for poetic or P.S. reasons. Never afterthink to "improve" or defray impressions, as the best writing is always the most painful personal wrung-out tossed from cradle warm protective mind – tap from yourself the song of yourself, blow! – now! [...]"
Etymology
Compound of after- + think, probably a calque of Ancient Greek μετάνοια (metánoia).
More for "afterthink"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.