hindsight

[hahynd-sahyt]

noun

1. recognition of the realities, possibilities, or requirements of a situation, event, decision etc., after its occurrence.

hindsight

/ ˈhaɪndˌsaɪt /

noun

1. the ability to understand, after something has happened, what should have been done or what caused the event

2. a firearm's rear sight

Word History and Origins

Origin of hindsight¹

First recorded in 1850–55; hind ¹ + sight

Example Sentences

I think about Eric — how long he’s been gone, how he was robbed of the benefits of aging and hindsight, how he lives on through my work.

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"Maybe in hindsight it was a bit of a stylistic turn," says Rowsell.

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Give him the benefit of hindsight and look at the previous junctures at which he was condemned for not bringing the war to a conclusion.

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“So much has happened that, only with hindsight, one might feel was predictable, but for which the organization and staff were not really prepared,” the report said.

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Even with the benefit of hindsight, they could still see what “a tough job” it is “spending a million or two well.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times