afterward
af·ter·ward/ˈæf.tɚ.wɚd/adverb
afterward is spelled A-F-T-E-R-W-A-R-D: 9 letters and 3 syllables (af·ter·ward). It appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “afterward vs afterwards” about 1,000 times a month (Google, United States). As an adverb, afterward means “Alternative form of afterwards” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in afterward?
| Letters | 9: A-F-T-E-R-W-A-R-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: af·ter·ward |
| In writing | 6.8 times per million words; the 9,165th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is afterward?
Afterward appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce afterward?
- UK /ˈɑːftə.wəd/
- US /ˈæf.tɚ.wɚd/
Afterward has 3 syllables, split af·ter·ward in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-afterward.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with afterward
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: afterwards.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What does afterward mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
USAlternative form of afterwards.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does afterward come from?
Inherited from Middle English afterward, from Old English æfterweard; equivalent to after + -ward.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).