ultérieure

Ultérieure is a French adjective meaning later or subsequent, used to indicate something that occurs after a reference point in time. The masculine form is ultérieur, while the feminine form is ultérieure. In the plural, the forms are ultérieurs (masculine) and ultérieures (feminine). The word is commonly encountered in formal, administrative, or academic writing, as well as in legal language.

Etymology and relatives: ultérieur derives from the Latin ultimus, meaning last or farthest, and has evolved through Old French into the present French form. It sits with a family of time-related terms such as antérieur (earlier) and postérieur (later), though ultérieur is often perceived as slightly more formal or technical than postérieur.

Usage and nuances: ultérieur is used to qualify nouns to denote something that follows a defined point in time. For example, une date ultérieure means a date to be determined later, and des événements ultérieurs refer to later events. The term is commonly used in phrases like "à une date ultérieure" or "dans les développements ultérieurs." While it can be interchangeable with postérieur in some contexts, ultérieur tends to carry a more formal, precise nuance and is frequently preferred in legal, administrative, or scholarly discourse.

See also: antérieur, postérieur, tardif. In practice, choosing ultérieur or postérieur depends on register and nuance; ultérieur emphasizes the sequence after a specified moment, while postérieur is the more general term for something that comes after.