Retrospect Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms retrospect American [re-truh-spekt] / ˈrɛ trəˌspɛkt /

noun

1. contemplation of the past; a survey of past time, events, etc.

verb (used without object)

1. to look back in thought; refer back (often followed byto ).

   to retrospect to a period in one's youth.

verb (used with object)

1. to look back upon; contemplate retrospectively.

idioms

1. in retrospect, in looking back on past events; upon reflection.

   It was, in retrospect, the happiest day of her life.

retrospect British / ˈrɛtrəʊˌspɛkt /

noun

1. the act of surveying things past (often in the phrase in retrospect )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. to contemplate (anything past); look back on (something)

2. to refer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of retrospect

1595–1605; probably retro- + (pro)spect

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

However, given the pressure they "did things that in retrospect were not necessarily the right things", he said.

From BBC

That included, in retrospect, a shocking season-opening defeat to the Raiders, who wound up winning only two more all season.

From The Wall Street Journal

I understand that someone passed out and needed medical attention, and in retrospect I'm surprised it was only one.

From BBC

If warnings of an artificial-intelligence bubble turn out to be true, Danoff’s retirement may look, in retrospect, like a final act of market prescience.

From Barron's

In retrospect, it’s easy why pundits have pegged this conference as the high water mark for Moms for Liberty’s influence.

From Salon

Related Words

• hindsight

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.