retroactive
Americanadjective
-
operative with respect to past occurrences, as a statute; retrospective.
a retroactive law.
-
pertaining to a pay raise effective as of a past date.
adjective
-
applying or referring to the past
retroactive legislation
-
effective or operative from a date or for a period in the past
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of retroactive
Explanation
The adjective retroactive refers to something happening now that affects the past. For example, a retroactive tax is one that is passed at one time, but payable back to a time before the tax was passed. The Latin word retroagere, an ancestor of the adjective retroactive, means "drive or turn back," and goes along with the meaning of the word. Sometimes governments pass rulings that are set as if they were in effect before the ruling was even made, and that means they are retroactive. On the bright side, you might be awarded a salary raise that is retroactive, meaning you'll get paid more for work you did in the past. And, retroactive fads in clothing keep vintage clothing stores in business.
Vocabulary lists containing retroactive
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Unwind
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Just Mercy
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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.
It would bar retroactive taxes on past earnings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
I was able to claim several months of retroactive benefits, so it still worked out quite well for me.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
“Because we focus so much on the kind of retroactive or reactionary human caseload, we miss the opportunity to control the vector and to understand more about the vector,” LaDeau said.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
The Tax Foundation, a nonprofit, however, notes that legal challenges to the Jan. 1, retroactive date of the tax could succeed.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Prosecutors in many places resisted retroactive application of the Court's decision in Miller v.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
