How to Use ex post facto in a Sentence

ex post facto

adjective
  • But there are all sorts of ex post facto good reasons for not eating meat.
    New York Times, 3 July 2019
  • The leap, the extension, the tapping toes, the viselike grip that nullifies any ex post facto claim that this catch was not a catch.
    Josh Levin, Slate Magazine, 6 Feb. 2017
  • Would using an ex post facto diagnosis on the job market give me an unfair advantage?
    Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2018
  • Conyers argued that using the amendment in her case violated the ex post facto law outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
    Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, 10 June 2022
  • So many shows rely on studio interviews or guests recapping their adventures ex post facto — the equivalent of Aunt Jane prattling on about her trip to Tuscany over the phone.
    Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2020
  • Any future decisions about sealants can certainly be applied ex post facto.
    Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 29 May 2020
  • The Constitution expressly prohibits Congress and the states from enacting ex post facto laws.
    Robert F. Turner, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2018
  • Facing facts and eschewing euphemisms, the U of L coach spent much of his post-season media de-briefing managing expectations on an ex post facto basis.
    Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 15 Mar. 2021
  • Vote suppression is not the same thing as a one-party state, and any number-juggling that suggests that is just silly, but, sure, put together enough restrictions and gerrymandering and ex post facto laws and so on, and that can add up.
    Andrew Gelman, Slate Magazine, 4 Jan. 2017
  • This process is meant to focus regulators’ efforts on large rather than small transactions, in addition to giving companies some assurance that their deal won’t be upended ex post facto.
    Rachel Chiu, National Review, 25 Oct. 2021
  • Under that analysis, the plaintiff argued, a town could force out people with past convictions by imposing new penalties triggered by even passive or innocuous current acts without worry of running afoul of the ex post facto clause.
    Bruce Vielmetti, Journal Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2022
  • Some scholars worry such estimates could be used to justify, ex post facto, the policy’s existence, and feel that Goodkind’s criticisms of previous work fall outside the bounds of scholarly decorum.
    Mara Hvistendahl, Science | AAAS, 18 Oct. 2017
  • Applying those changes retroactively, the court reasoned, violated the Constitution’s ban on ex post facto punishments.
    Matt Ford, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2017
  • Right now, verification technology is ex post facto, generating reports for the marketer once their campaign has already run.
    Alok Choudhary, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2022
  • Watson, by far the most popular alternative, spurred more ex post facto grousing over Jackson’s victory by scoring four touchdowns to propel Clemson past Alabama in an epic national championship game rematch.
    Chris Johnson, SI.com, 13 Sep. 2017
  • Most sophisticated financial services firms already have an existing data model—typically used for ex post facto data extraction—which is loaded into Arteria.
    Tom Davenport, Forbes, 17 May 2022
  • According to the International Carbon Action Partnership, an intergovernmental climate-policy monitoring group, the nominal cap will be adjusted ex post facto based on actual power-production levels.
    Jordan McGillis, National Review, 30 Aug. 2021
  • But there are all sorts of ex post facto good reasons for not eating meat.
    New York Times, 3 July 2019
  • The leap, the extension, the tapping toes, the viselike grip that nullifies any ex post facto claim that this catch was not a catch.
    Josh Levin, Slate Magazine, 6 Feb. 2017
  • Would using an ex post facto diagnosis on the job market give me an unfair advantage?
    Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2018
  • Conyers argued that using the amendment in her case violated the ex post facto law outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
    Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press, 10 June 2022
  • So many shows rely on studio interviews or guests recapping their adventures ex post facto — the equivalent of Aunt Jane prattling on about her trip to Tuscany over the phone.
    Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2020
  • Any future decisions about sealants can certainly be applied ex post facto.
    Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 29 May 2020
  • The Constitution expressly prohibits Congress and the states from enacting ex post facto laws.
    Robert F. Turner, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2018
  • Facing facts and eschewing euphemisms, the U of L coach spent much of his post-season media de-briefing managing expectations on an ex post facto basis.
    Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 15 Mar. 2021
  • Vote suppression is not the same thing as a one-party state, and any number-juggling that suggests that is just silly, but, sure, put together enough restrictions and gerrymandering and ex post facto laws and so on, and that can add up.
    Andrew Gelman, Slate Magazine, 4 Jan. 2017
  • This process is meant to focus regulators’ efforts on large rather than small transactions, in addition to giving companies some assurance that their deal won’t be upended ex post facto.
    Rachel Chiu, National Review, 25 Oct. 2021
  • Under that analysis, the plaintiff argued, a town could force out people with past convictions by imposing new penalties triggered by even passive or innocuous current acts without worry of running afoul of the ex post facto clause.
    Bruce Vielmetti, Journal Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2022
  • Some scholars worry such estimates could be used to justify, ex post facto, the policy’s existence, and feel that Goodkind’s criticisms of previous work fall outside the bounds of scholarly decorum.
    Mara Hvistendahl, Science | AAAS, 18 Oct. 2017
  • Applying those changes retroactively, the court reasoned, violated the Constitution’s ban on ex post facto punishments.
    Matt Ford, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2017

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

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