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

It was a “classic sort of rose-colored glasses, ‘We thought, oh, the potential market’s huge,’ but in retrospect it wasn’t,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 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

Legal experts say the conviction marks a victory for law enforcement officials, whose investigations into both slayings were mired in uncooperative witnesses, questionable police work and what in retrospect seem like missed opportunities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 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

None of this was particularly an affliction; or rather, it appeared so only in retrospect, once a solution had been found.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan