retroactivity
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
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.
The city’s common-law heritage—which nominally rejected retroactivity in criminal law—was junked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Seven years later, the North Carolina Supreme Court “declared the repeal’s retroactivity provision unconstitutional” and allowed people like Bacote to continue litigating RJA claims.
From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2025
“There is no retroactivity issue because candidates and committees were subject to the same legal requirements prior to the new interpretation.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 10, 2023
“Most people would tell you there is a real retroactivity problem there,” said Elizabeth Sepper, a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 18, 2022
Greg Totten, the association’s chief executive, raised concerns with the bill’s retroactivity, and said it would strip from judges and prosecutors the flexibility to apply or remove a strike.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2022
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.
