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Ex post facto is Latin for "from a thing done afterward". Approval for a project that's given ex post facto—after the project already has been begun or completed—may just have been given in order to save face. An ex post facto law is one that declares someone's action to be criminal only after it was committed--a procedure forbidden by our Constitution.
Examples of ex post facto in a Sentence
Benjamin H. Bradlow, Foreign Affairs, 12 Jan. 2023
Such ex post facto legislation undermines the integrity of the tax system.
—Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 22 May 2024
Andrew George, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Mar. 2023
Imposing new and coercive restrictions on existing properties purchased by owners based on a codified set of economic and land-use assumptions isn’t fair under a constitutional system that abhors ex post facto laws.
—WSJ, 20 June 2021
See all Example Sentences for ex post facto 
Dictionary Entries Near ex post facto
Cite this Entry
“Ex post facto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ex%20post%20facto. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ex post facto
1 of 2 adverb
ex post facto
2 of 2 adjectiveAdverb
Latin, literally, "from a thing done afterward"
Legal Definition
ex post facto
1 of 2 adverbex post facto
2 of 2 adjectiveL. H. TribeAdverb
Late Latin, literally, from a thing done afterward
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