retcon
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
Usage
What does retcon mean? Retcon is an informal term for a revision made to an established story after the story was published or released, as in Fans were frustrated with the retcons that eliminated some of the TV series’ early characters. The term is a shortening of retroactive continuity. It is also used as a verb meaning to later revise an established story, as in I can’t believe they retconned a romance between the hero and the villain!Retcon is used mostly informally in reference to movies, television, video games, comic books, and similar types of entertainment with an ongoing story. A retcon is a plot point, reveal, or significant change that invalidates or changes the past of the story in order to maintain continuity within the whole of the story. Example: The fact that he had a son we never heard about does make sense, so I'm okay with the retcon.
Etymology
Origin of retcon
First recorded in 1980–85; a shortening of retroactive continuity
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.
See Examples For:
The transformation of Sol's lightsaber draws from material in the "Darth Vader" comic books, which itself is a retcon of the first offscreen explanations of red lightsabers from the age before Disney.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2024
It’s a complete bizarre retcon of the original mythology that makes no sense except to create an opportunity for Laurie and Hawkins to share a moment while recovering from their Michael-inflicted wounds in the hospital.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 15, 2021
It’s a completely bizarre retcon of the original mythology that makes no sense except to create an opportunity for Laurie and Hawkins to share a moment while recovering from their Myers-inflicted wounds in the hospital.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
You can’t retcon a date into having numerological significance, or if you can, then you have to admit that you’re just making it up.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2020
For example, revealing that a whole season of "Dallas" was a dream was a retcon.
From The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0, 24 Jul 1996 by Raymond, Eric S.
Their book “Generations” retconned this idea all the way back to 1584 — on extremely dubious evidence — and predicted future generational waves all the way to 2069.
From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2025
Lin’s fingerprints are still all over “Fast X”: A retconned revisitation of Lin’s “Fast Five” vault sequence serves as an opening showcase in “Fast X,” blending new and original footage.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2023
As Wolk notes, Marvel hasn’t retconned any of the decisions it’s made about characters, and continues to introduce new story lines.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2021
It was not yet subject to the obsessive tweaking that George Lucas started to do with the special editions two decades later, with their digital polishing, retconned bits of storytelling, and added characters and dialogue.
From The Guardian ● May 21, 2020
"Byrne has retconned Superman's cape so that it is no longer unbreakable."
From The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0, 24 Jul 1996 by Raymond, Eric S.
This story is not merely a retconning of America’s most beloved fairy tale, it’s a warning about the spoils of unregulated power.
From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2024
There’s a note of wistful, wishful thinking in all this retconning of reality — would that we could write a time jump into our own scripts!
From New York Times ● Jan. 7, 2022
Along the way, there have been much tinkering and retconning and decades of accrued detail and storylines that may have contradicted earlier storylines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2021
However, The Rise of Skywalker does a bit of retconning: It turns out Rey’s parents “chose to be” nobodies to protect her from her grandfather, leaving her on Jakku to hide her from him.
From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2019
Hopefully, there’s less retconning with these characters once the series is over.
From The Verge ● Apr. 10, 2019
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.
