Afterwards & thereafter

[BlackMax]

Hello,
(My apologies if I'm posting not to the right place.)

Are there any differences in meaning between afterwards and thereafter? That is, in which cases it can happen that only one of them can be used?
Thanks in advance.

 

[BobK]

'Thereafter' means after that, and I rather like it. But many people will say that 'afterwards' will always do, and the more it's said the more it becomes true.

Buy your licence online and thereafter your use is legal. / Buy your licence online and afterwards your use is legal. Equivalent? I'm afraid many people think they are, although in my view the first is much clearer and involves the reader in less work. 'After that'; After what? After the verb specified. With 'afterwards' the reader is left to work out what is the trigger for legality - not a hard job, but a certain amount of thought; it doesn't specify 'from that moment on', it just means 'at some point afterwards - could be immediately, could be tomorrow, could be the beginning of trading on the NYSE, could be on the next working day...'

b