afterthought

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an idea, action, or addition considered only after an original decision or plan

   The accessibility features felt like an afterthought added just before launch.

2. 2
   noun

   a later reflection or reconsideration of something already done or said

   On afterthought, she returned to clarify the final sentence of her letter.

Formed from after- + thought, probably in comparison with forethought. It first denoted a thought occurring later and then also an element added late to a plan, often with the implication that it was insufficiently integrated.

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