afterlife means A conscious existence after death; a supernatural life that follows one's natural life, in some worldviews.
afterlife is pronounced /ˈɑːftəˌlaɪf/.
Why “afterlife” is a great word
A conscious existence or state of being believed to follow the death of the physical body. From the English combining form after- (meaning "following in time or place") + life (meaning "the condition of being alive"), first recorded in 1585–95. Unlike "hereafter," which resonates with the gavel of final judgment, or "legacy," which is only what one leaves behind, the afterlife is the purported condition one carries forward. It is the blank page after the story’s end, the echo in a room after the source of sound has ceased, the shadow cast by a setting sun—the mind’s fragile architecture built against the silence of the grave.
Etymology
From after- + life.
noun
- A conscious existence after death; a supernatural life that follows one's natural life, in some worldviews.“Many religious people believe in an afterlife.”
- The place believed to be inhabited by people who have died.“You'll reunite later, somewhere in the afterlife.”
- The part of a person's life that follows a particular stage or event; later life.“They say that life begins at 40, but right now I'm more interested in the afterlife that begins at 65!”
- The effects of a person's actions, or their reputation, after death.“The philanthropic endowment that she bequeathed gave her an ongoing afterlife.”
- The events or situations that result from a particular event; the later reception, consumption or reworking of something, especially a cultural production such as a film, book, etc.“The 1970s TV show M*A*S*H had a long afterlife in syndication.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.