in retrospect

Idioms  

1. Looking backward, reflecting on the past. For example, In retrospect, he regarded his move as the best thing he'd ever done. This idiom employs retrospect in the sense of “a view of the past.” [Second half of 1600s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in retrospect

I was excited to go, probably too excited in retrospect — like someone who had never been out before — but that’s OK.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

But in retrospect I don’t think it was all that bad.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Over the years, I have come to understand that we learn our parents’ histories slowly, often in fragments, and sometimes only in retrospect.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

Haynie said that in retrospect, the school might have been better off not constructing so much simultaneously.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

How does the book look in retrospect, and what has happened to change or extend its conclusions since its publication?

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond