post hoc
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An agency’s justifications for its actions can’t be post hoc or pretextual.
From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026
Mr. Buruma resists glib post hoc censure, acknowledging that German civilians “lived in constant fear of their own government.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
Indeed, it was only after Wickstrom directly raised his illegal termination with Bosco that Bosco attempted an investigation to come up with a post hoc justification for Wickstrom’s termination.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2025
They never consider, for a moment, the phrase "post hoc ergo propter hoc."
From Salon • Sep. 14, 2023
It was indeed in the Spanish interest to exaggerate the extent of human sacrifice, because ending what Cortes called this “most horrid and abominable custom” became a post hoc rationale for conquest.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
