hindsight
Americannoun
noun
-
the ability to understand, after something has happened, what should have been done or what caused the event
-
a firearm's rear sight
Etymology
Origin of hindsight
Explanation
People who are able to look back on the past and understand what happened have hindsight. If you go skating on a frozen lake and it cracks, in hindsight you'd know you should've paid attention to the giant "danger" sign. Hindsight is like looking behind you to see what just happened (behind sight, get it?). Another way of describing retrospection, hindsight is a useful skill that can be cultivated. Hindsight often refers to a lesson learned from something going wrong. Billy Wilder, the American movie director, once commented wistfully, “Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.” It's much easier to see clearly after something happened than before.
Vocabulary lists containing hindsight
Wonder
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Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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10 Words that Inspired Taylor Swift
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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.
With Blitzy growing quickly and given the benefit of hindsight, I asked Elliott whether it required courage to start a company again before the technology was ready.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
But in hindsight, I was optimizing for a travel lifestyle that I wasn’t really living, and I would have been better off picking a card that offered more of what I needed: free cash.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
I didn’t specifically say Venice, and in hindsight, I probably should have.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
All financial bacchanals end when an event, often minor but only obvious in hindsight, sets off an uncontrollable chain reaction.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Her recollection of the previous night wasn’t good, it felt more like a fever dream in hindsight, but there was one thing...
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
