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

Was it an insensitive thing to say, in retrospect?

From MarketWatch • Jul. 1, 2026

Only in retrospect could she see that the permanence she mourned had never been fixed; it was a world her parents had continually worked to hold in place.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026

They called it the “Attitude Era,” and in retrospect it represented the absolute apotheosis of pre-millennium x-treme marketing.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

Which feels, in retrospect, like a ridiculous standard: to exile an entire cut of meat because it didn’t impress me at 12.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026

Now, in retrospect, I realize that there were signs pointing to troubled times ahead.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson