retroactively

American  

[re-troh-ak-tiv-lee] / ˌrɛ troʊˈæk tɪv li /

adverb

1. in a way that includes or refers to events that happened before the relevant rule, decision, or other measure came into effect.

   One other state has just passed a Racial Justice Act, but it doesn’t allow any of the inmates now on death row to file claims retroactively.

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Other Word Forms

• nonretroactively
  adverb
• unretroactively
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of retroactively

retroactive ( def. ) + -ly

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Explanation

Things done retroactively take effect starting on a date in the past. If your boss pays you retroactively, she'll cover hours you worked in the past as well as the ones you're working today. If your water bill lists higher rates, and also announces that the new fees apply retroactively to January first, that means you already owe the water company extra money for past months. And if a musician becomes popular retroactively, it means that albums released years ago are just starting to be listened to in great numbers. Retroactively comes from the French rétroactif, "casting back," from the Latin roots retro-, "back," and agere, "to set in motion."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retroactively

What about voters who already cast their ballots, does the high court’s ruling apply retroactively?

From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026

Garmin built in a single side button to trigger manual tracking—but if the band misses a session, you can’t log it retroactively as you can on rival devices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The Florida ban took effect more than two years after Simpson and Zhou’s contract, and didn’t apply retroactively.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The measure retroactively applies a tax on billionaires who were residing in California as of Jan. 1.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Unfortunately, this theory would also retroactively outlaw choreograph, diagnose, resurrect, edit, sculpt, sleepwalk, and hundreds of other verbs that have become completely unexceptionable.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

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