ex post facto
The Latin phrase "ex post facto" translates to "after the fact" and is commonly used in legal contexts to describe retroactive laws or actions.
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Definition
C1Law
(formal, legal)Referring to laws or actions that are applied to events or actions that occurred before they were enacted.
Example
- The new tax regulation was applied ex post facto, affecting transactions made before the law was passed.
C1General
(formal)Done or made after an event, often with a retroactive effect.
Example
- The company's policy change was implemented ex post facto, impacting previous employee actions.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "ex post facto":
post factumafter the factpost hoca posterioriex temporeipso factoex faciebefore the factpost obitumex delicto