Word.ws English Dictionary

post-quantum

post-quantum adjective: existing in the hypothetical time period after the development of powerful quantum computers.

Adjective

post-quantum (not comparable)

  1. Existing in the hypothetical time period after the development of powerful quantum computers.
    • As research continues on quantum computers, we are quickly approaching the post-quantum age.
    • Once the need for post-quantum public-key cryptography is established, the question arises what it means for a public-key scheme to be secure in a post-quantum world.2016 March 18, Johannes Buchmann, Denis Butin, Florian Göpfert, Albrecht Petzoldt, “Post-Quantum Cryptography: State of the Art”, in The New Codebreakers (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; 9100)...
    1. (computer security) Suitable for the post-quantum age; quantum-resistant.
      • Cryptographers are at work developing post-quantum algorithms for the future.
      • There's an entire field of study dedicated to post-quantum cryptography. It's based on writing algorithms that could withstand an attack by a quantum computer.2015 July 1, Adrienne LaFrance, “The Race to Build a Quantum Computer”, in The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2022
  2. (rare) Beyond quantum physics.
    • Marti took us to the Laboratory of Human Evolution, a small library of Mothernalia containing books about quantum and pseudo-quantum and post-quantum science, several copies of Rupert Sheldrake, the nine volumes of the Agenda (Mother's diaries) out on loan, nine tapes of Mother's edited...1998, Walter Schwarz, Dorothy Schwartz, Living Lightly: Travels in Post-Consumer Society, Charlbury, Oxfordshire: Jon Carpenter, →ISBN, pages 326–327
    • However, before anyone nominates me for a Nobel Prize for solving the mystery of telepathy, I should add that it cannot yet be explained in terms of post-quantum science either.2002, Guy Lyon Playfair, Twin Telepathy: The Psychic Connection, 2nd edition, Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press, published 2008, →ISBN, page 154

Examples of post-quantum in a sentence

  • But adapting to a new post-quantum landscape isn’t just a quick patch download.2018 February 16, Ryan F. Mandelbaum, “Quantum Hacking Could Be 'Catastrophic' If We Don't Develop Better Cryptography”, in Gizmodo...
  • Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is stepping in to prepare for this post-quantum future.2021 October 4, “With Quantum Computing’s Rise, Cybersecurity Takes Center Stage”, in Wired, San Francisco, C.A.: Condé Nast Publications...
  • The challenge for post-quantum cryptographers is to encode messages and other data using math problems so complex that even quantum computers can't solve them.2022 April 26, Joseph Marks, “Government is racing against the clock to keep encryption secure”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C....
  • These new algorithms fall into one of two broad categories: quantum and post-quantum.2015 September 1, Daniel Oberhaus, “Countdown to the Crypto-Apocalypse”, in VICE, archived from the original on 23 Aug 2022:

Forms of post-quantum

alternative formpostquantum

Origin of post-quantum

From post- (“after, later”) + quantum.

Questions about post-quantum

What does post-quantum mean?
Post-quantum means existing in the hypothetical time period after the development of powerful quantum computers.
How do you use post-quantum in a sentence?
But adapting to a new post-quantum landscape isn’t just a quick patch download.
What part of speech is post-quantum?
Post-quantum is an adjective.

Words near post-quantum in the dictionary

  1. post-pubescent
  2. post-punk
  3. post-punk revival
  4. post-punks
  5. post-qualified
  6. post-quantum
  7. post-racial
  8. post-radiological
  9. post-resurrection
  10. post-resurrectional
  11. post-retinoid sexual dysfunction

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: post-quantum (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-post-quantum.wav.

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