belated
adj. B2 Upper Intermediate US //bɪˈɫeɪtɪd// UK //bɪlˈeɪtɪd// be·lat·ed
adj. happening or coming later than it should have. You use this most often when you forget to send a card or a gift on time.
adj. occurring or arriving later than expected or appropriate. Often used to qualify greetings, apologies, or recognition that missed a specific deadline or anniversary.
I sent her a belated birthday card a week late.
The company offered a belated apology to the customers affected by the service outage last month.
The artist finally received belated recognition for her early work, though the praise came decades after she had moved on to different styles.
Usage
Commonly used in the fixed phrase 'belated birthday' and typically precedes the noun it modifies.