Late crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Late” are PAST, DEAD or DEEP, with 4 letters. Below are 17 answers from 4 to 10 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

PAST 4 letters · adjective

earlier than the present time; no longer current “time past”

TARDY 5 letters · adjective

after the expected or usual time; delayed “tardy children are sent to the principal”

FORMER 6 letters · adjective

(used especially of persons) of the immediate past “the former president”

RECENTLY 8 letters · adverb

in the recent past “he was in Paris recently”

POSTHUMOUS 10 letters · adjective

occurring or coming into existence after a person's death “a posthumous award”

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, PAST, DEAD, DEEP and RIPE all fit. The third letter tells them all apart: S → PAST · A → DEAD · E → DEEP · P → RIPE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, FORMER, RECENT, LATISH and MODERN all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: F → FORMER · R → RECENT · L → LATISH · M → MODERN. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 8 squares, RECENTLY, PREVIOUS, ADVANCED, LATTERLY and AUTUMNAL all fit. The second letter tells them all apart: E → RECENTLY · R → PREVIOUS · D → ADVANCED · A → LATTERLY · U → AUTUMNAL. Fill in that crossing answer first.

What “late” means

• adjective: being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time (“late evening”)
• adjective: after the expected or usual time; delayed (“I'm late for the plane”)
• adjective: of the immediate past or just previous to the present time (“a late development”)
• adjective: having died recently (“her late husband”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as LATE, and words whose definition is LATE. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.