Afterward vs Afterwards: Is There a Difference?

Afterward and afterwards mean exactly the same thing: "at a later time" or "after the event just mentioned." The only real difference is regional preference, with afterward favored in American writing and afterwards standard in British and Australian English.

So you are not choosing between a right word and a wrong word. You are choosing the form that fits your audience and then sticking with it. The rest of this guide explains where the two forms came from, what editors expect, and how to avoid the one genuine trap in this area: the book term afterword.

Quick answer: Both forms are correct and mean "later." Use afterward for American readers (it is the AP and general US editorial preference). Use afterwards for British, Australian and most other international readers. Never write afterword unless you mean the closing section of a book.

On this page

1. What the word means
2. Where the -s comes from
3. Afterward vs afterwards at a glance
4. US vs UK vs Australia
5. 24 example sentences
6. Common phrases built on the word
7. Common mistakes
8. Related -ward and -wards pairs
9. A memory trick that works
10. Practice quiz
11. Style guide notes
12. Choosing with confidence

What the word means

Afterward(s) is an adverb of time. It tells you when something happened in relation to something else, and it always points to a later moment.

• We watched the match and went out for dinner afterwards.
• The surgeon spoke to the family afterward.

Notice that the word usually needs a reference point. "Afterward" means "after that," so the reader has to know what "that" refers to. In the sentences above, it is the match and the surgery.

Part of speech

In modern English, both forms work only as adverbs. You will occasionally see "the afterward celebrations" in casual writing, but it sounds off to most readers. If you need an adjective, reach for later, subsequent or following.

Pronunciation

• American: AF-ter-werd (the final syllable is weak, often close to "wurd")
• British: AHF-tuh-wudz (non-rhotic, so the r is not pronounced)
• Australian: AHF-tuh-wudz, much like the British pronunciation

Because the last syllable is unstressed, afterward and afterword sound nearly identical in speech, which explains the most common spelling mix-up.

Where the -s comes from

The base word goes back to Old English, which had a form close to æfterweard, built from æfter ("after") and -weard ("toward, in the direction of"). That same -ward ending shows up in homeward, inward, westward and toward.

The -s version is not a modern typo or a later British invention. English has long used a final -s to turn words into adverbs. Linguists call this the adverbial genitive. It survives in words such as always, besides, nowadays, once (originally ones) and in phrases like "he works nights." Over centuries, many -ward adverbs picked up this -s, giving pairs such as backward/backwards, forward/forwards and toward/towards.

Both forms existed side by side in Britain and America for a long time. Over the past couple of centuries, American usage drifted toward the shorter form, while British usage settled firmly on the -s form. Australian English, which grew from British norms, kept afterwards.

Afterward vs afterwards at a glance

US vs UK vs Australia

United States

American editors generally prefer afterward, in the same way they prefer toward, forward and backward as adverbs. The AP Stylebook, which governs most American newsrooms, lists the form without the -s. Many American publishers' house styles do the same.

That said, afterwards is very common in everyday American speech and informal writing. If your American colleague in Ohio writes "Let's grab coffee afterwards," nobody will blink. The preference matters mainly in edited, published prose.

United Kingdom

In British English, afterwards is the normal form in speech, journalism, fiction and academic writing. Afterward is not wrong in Britain, but it can look slightly American or old-fashioned to a British reader. A London newspaper or a university essay in Leeds would almost always use afterwards.

Australia

Australian English follows British practice here. Afterwards is the standard in Australian newspapers, government documents and school writing. Readers in Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide would expect the -s form, and afterward may read as an Americanism, although it would not be marked wrong in most contexts.

Writing for a mixed audience

If your readers are spread across all three countries, pick one form and use it consistently. Most international organizations default either to their home country's style or to British spelling. Consistency matters far more than which form you choose. For a broader picture of how these regional habits line up, see our British vs American vs Australian spelling guide.

24 example sentences

Everyday life

1. We hiked up Mount Coot-tha and had a picnic afterwards.
2. My brother fell asleep during the film and asked me what happened afterward.
3. Wash your hands before cooking and again afterwards.
4. She cried at the wedding but laughed about it afterward.
5. The kids played in the sprinklers in Phoenix and were dry ten minutes afterward.
6. I didn't realize I'd lost my keys until much later afterwards, when I got home to Bondi.

Workplace and email

7. "The client presentation runs until 3 p.m., and we'll debrief afterward in Conference Room B."
8. "Please send me the slides afterwards so I can share them with the Manchester team."
9. Our manager in Denver announced the merger and took questions afterward.
10. "Thanks for joining the call. I'll circulate the minutes shortly afterwards."
11. The interview went well, but the candidate followed up only a week afterward.
12. "We'll lock the budget on Friday; any changes requested afterwards will go to next quarter."

Academic

13. Participants completed a questionnaire before the task and a short interview afterwards.
14. The treaty was signed in 1648, and the region remained relatively stable for decades afterward.
15. Students in the control group were tested immediately and again four weeks afterwards.
16. The author revised the manuscript extensively, and the second edition appeared two years afterward.

News style

17. Police in Melbourne said the driver was taken to hospital and released shortly afterwards.
18. The senator voted against the bill and explained her decision to reporters afterward.
19. Flights resumed at Heathrow on Tuesday morning, but delays continued for hours afterwards.
20. The storm made landfall near Galveston, and power outages spread across the county soon afterward.

Storytelling and dialogue

21. "Afterwards," she said, "nobody could remember who had locked the door."
22. He apologized, and afterward the two old friends didn't speak of it again.
23. Long afterwards, the villagers in Cornwall still told the story of the stranded whale.
24. Afterward, Mia wondered whether she should have taken the job in Sydney.

Notice that the word can go at the start of a sentence, in the middle, or at the end. At the start, it is often followed by a comma, especially in longer sentences. At the end, no comma is needed.

Common phrases built on the word

A few combinations are especially frequent:

• shortly afterward(s): soon after the event
• soon afterward(s): similar to "shortly afterwards"
• long afterward(s): a long time after
• immediately afterward(s): right away
• not long afterward(s): fairly soon after
• years/days/hours afterward(s): after a stated length of time

Each of these works with either spelling. If you are writing American English, "shortly afterward" is the conventional newsroom form. If you are writing British or Australian English, "shortly afterwards" is what readers expect.

Alternatives when you want variety

If you have used afterwards three times in one paragraph, swap in a synonym. Later is the most neutral choice. Subsequently sounds formal and suits reports. Then and after that work well in step-by-step instructions, and in the end or eventually suggest a longer wait. Each shifts the tone slightly, so read the sentence aloud before you commit.

Common mistakes

Confusing afterward with afterword

This is the only mistake in this area that will actually get marked wrong.

❌ The novel ends with an afterward by the author's daughter. ✅ The novel ends with an afterword by the author's daughter.

❌ We had dessert afterword. ✅ We had dessert afterward.

An afterword is a short piece of writing at the end of a book, the counterpart of a foreword at the beginning. Both of those book words contain word, because they are pieces of text. (And yes, it is foreword, not forward, at the front of a book.)

Mixing both forms in the same document

❌ The team met afterward to review the data. Afterwards, they emailed the results to the board. ✅ The team met afterward to review the data. Afterward, they emailed the results to the board.

Switching forms suggests careless editing. Choose one and use it throughout.

Treating it as an adjective

❌ The afterwards discussion lasted an hour. ✅ The discussion afterwards lasted an hour. ✅ The follow-up discussion lasted an hour.

Doubling up with "after"

❌ After the concert, we went out for pizza afterwards. ✅ After the concert, we went out for pizza. ✅ We went to the concert and went out for pizza afterwards.

When "after the concert" already sets the time, adding afterwards repeats the idea.

Writing "after wards" as two words

❌ We talked after wards. ✅ We talked afterwards.

Similar one-word-or-two puzzles come up with awhile vs a while and anytime vs any time, but this one is simple: it is always one word.

Related -ward and -wards pairs

Afterward(s) belongs to a family of words that behave in similar ways. Knowing the family makes the choice easier.

The general pattern is that American English leans toward the -ward adverb and British and Australian English lean toward -wards. It is a tendency, not a law, and individual writers vary. If you also wrestle with among vs amongst, you will recognize the same story: a form with an extra sound that Americans find slightly formal and Britons find perfectly normal.

A memory trick that works

Think of the extra letter as a passport stamp:

"Afterwards" has an extra S because it crossed the Sea.

The short form, afterward, stayed at home in American newsrooms. The -s form is the one you will find across the sea in Britain and down in Australia.

For the book term, use this: An afterWORD is made of WORDs. If you can replace it with "epilogue" or "closing note," you need afterword. If you can replace it with "later," you need afterward or afterwards.

Practice quiz

Choose the best word for each blank. Assume the stated audience.

1. (American newspaper) The mayor delivered her speech and met with residents ______.
2. (British email) "We'll finish the audit on Thursday and send you the report ______."
3. (Any audience) The memoir closes with a moving ______ written by the author's son.
4. (Australian school report) Students visited the museum and wrote a reflection ______.
5. Which sentence is correct? (a) The afterward party was loud. (b) The party afterward was loud.
6. (Any audience) Spot the problem: "After the game, we celebrated afterwards at the pub in Leeds."

Answers

1. afterward: American news style, following AP, prefers the form without -s.
2. afterwards: the standard form in British English.
3. afterword: the closing section of a book is spelled with -word.
4. afterwards: Australian English follows British usage here.
5. (b): the word is an adverb, so it follows the noun rather than acting as an adjective before it.
6. Redundancy: "After the game" already sets the time, so delete afterwards or rewrite as "We celebrated at the pub in Leeds afterwards."

Style guide notes

Different publications make different calls, and it helps to know the general picture:

• US news writing: The AP Stylebook prefers afterward and toward. If you write for an American outlet, expect editors to remove the -s.
• US book publishing: American book editors generally follow the same preference, though fiction editors may leave afterwards in dialogue if it fits the character's voice.
• British publishing: British house styles overwhelmingly use afterwards.
• Australian publishing: Australian government and media style also uses afterwards, in keeping with the country's broadly British spelling conventions.

If you are writing for an organization with its own style sheet, the style sheet wins. If there isn't one, follow the regional default for your readers, the same way you would decide between learned and learnt.

Choosing with confidence

When you write afterward or afterwards, ask one question: who is going to read this? For an American audience, use afterward; for British, Australian or most other international readers, use afterwards. Then keep that choice consistent from the first page to the last, and save afterword for the note at the back of a book.