a pos·te·ri·o·ri (ä? p?-stîr??-ôr??, -ôr??, ??)adj.1. Derived by or designating the process of reasoning from facts or particulars to general principles or from effects to causes; inductive; empirical.2. a. Justified by appeal to experience.b. Knowable from experience.[Medieval Latin ? posteri?r? : Latin ?, from + Latin posteri?r?, ablative of posterior, later.]a? pos·te?ri·o?ri adv.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.a posteriori (e? p?s?t?r????ra?; -r?; ??) adj1. (Logic) relating to or involving inductive reasoning from particular facts or effects to a general principle2. (Logic) derived from or requiring evidence for its validation or support; empirical; open to revision3. (Statistics) statistics See posterior probability[C18: from Latin, literally: from the latter (that is, from effect to cause)]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014a pos?te?ri?o?ri (?e? p??st??r i??r a?, -?o?r a?, -??r i, -?o?r i) adj. 1. from particular instances to a general principle or law; based on observation or experiment. Compare a priori (def. 1). 2. not existing in the mind prior to or apart from experience. [1615?25;