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.
Nearly two of those years are in the past, so much of the increase will be retroactive.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
The state was the first in the nation to pass legislation allowing such retroactive cancellations.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, “immediate implications of tariff reversal are likely to result in retroactive refunds, not future price relief.”
From MarketWatch • Feb. 20, 2026
Given the repeated warnings states have received about this issue, one might ask why CMS hasn’t insisted on enforcing the new restrictions retroactive to the enactment of the Big Beautiful Bill in July.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 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.
