retroactive

American  

[re-troh-ak-tiv] / ˌrɛ troʊˈæk tɪv /

adjective

1. operative with respect to past occurrences, as a statute; retrospective.

   a retroactive law.

2. pertaining to a pay raise effective as of a past date.

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retroactive British  

/ ˌrɛtrəʊˈæktɪv /

adjective

1. applying or referring to the past

   retroactive legislation

2. effective or operative from a date or for a period in the past

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Other Word Forms

• nonretroactive
  adjective
• nonretroactivity
  noun
• retroactively
  adverb
• retroactiveness
  noun
• retroactivity
  noun
• unretroactive
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of retroactive

First recorded in 1605–15; retro- + active

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.

Example Sentences

Retroactive benefits also will be paid, the statement said.

From Washington Times • Jul. 28, 2020

Retroactive approval was not granted; instead, developers paid a fine of $2.1 million, some of which was earmarked to renovate dance-rehearsal space at neighboring City Center.

From New York Times • Jun. 2, 2016

Retroactive wage increases are "something that should be on the table," de Blasio told Reuters in an interview last week.

From Reuters • Sep. 13, 2013

Nor is she any great feminist, despite her outspokenness about "girl power," which you can read about in "Nicki Minaj's Retroactive Feminism" by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd for the website AlterNet.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 9, 2012

Mr. Trollop, you are pledged to support the Indigent Congressmen's Retroactive Appropriation which is to come up, either in this or the next session.

From The Gilded Age, Part 5. by Warner, Charles Dudley