afterimage

noun

af·​ter·​im·​age ˈaf-tər-ˌi-mij How to pronounce afterimage (audio)
plural afterimages
1
: a usually visual sensation occurring after stimulation by its external cause has ceased
2
: a lasting memory or mental image of something
The problem with the heros of myths is that, although they were once a reality or rooted in one, they rarely matched their lovely afterimage.Irvin Faust

Examples of afterimage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Truth floats around him like afterimages, those dark spots that bob in and out of focus. Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 Reported injuries mostly entail eye pain or irritation, flash blindness and afterimages or unspecified eye injuries. Catherine Allen, NBC News, 31 Jan. 2024 Bodies — theirs and others — fill in the space, but their afterimage reverberates. Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 The results have sometimes been described as memories that barely hold together, and as attempts to ascribe significance to the foggy afterimages of art history. Zachary Small, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023 Smith’s most commanding pieces, always essentially abstract, are complicated by traces and afterimages of figures, landscapes, and even still lifes. Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 31 Aug. 2023 There are also powerful afterimages and echoes—mental clips—of certain facial expressions and verbal inflections, moments in which performances seem to detach themselves from the movie at hand and point ahead to a skein of movies to come. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2023 Create your own earth view – Your unique planet, Your afterimage, Your artwork. Time, 27 Oct. 2022 On early autumn afternoons across the temperate world, the midges are now gathering to swarm: clouds of tiny flies, wings lit by the sun like so many sparks, swirling in patterns too quick and complicated for the eye to follow but leaving a mental afterimage of order. Brandon Keim, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'afterimage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

after- + image entry 1

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of afterimage was in 1840

Dictionary Entries Near afterimage

Cite this Entry

“Afterimage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afterimage. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

afterimage

noun
af·​ter·​im·​age -ˌim-ij How to pronounce afterimage (audio)
: a usually visual sensation continuing after the stimulus causing it has ended

Medical Definition

afterimage

noun
af·​ter·​im·​age -ˌrim-ij How to pronounce afterimage (audio)
: a usually visual sensation occurring after stimulation by its external cause has ceased

called also aftersensation, aftervision

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