retrospect

American  

[re-truh-spekt] / ˈrɛ trəˌspɛkt /

noun

1. contemplation of the past; a survey of past time, events, etc.

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verb (used without object)

1. to look back in thought; refer back (often followed byto ).

   to retrospect to a period in one's youth.

verb (used with object)

1. to look back upon; contemplate retrospectively.

idioms

1. in retrospect, in looking back on past events; upon reflection.

   It was, in retrospect, the happiest day of her life.

retrospect British  

/ ˈrɛtrəʊˌspɛkt /

noun

1. the act of surveying things past (often in the phrase in retrospect )

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verb

1. to contemplate (anything past); look back on (something)

2. to refer

Etymology

Origin of retrospect

1595–1605; probably retro- + (pro)spect

Example Sentences

In retrospect, crossing to the “other side,” as it was called, had turned out to be the lucky—or, at least, less unlucky—choice for the approximately 300,000 Polish Jews who had headed east.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

In retrospect, her remark, made on Feb. 11, has marked at least a local top, as Wall Street professionals would call it.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

In retrospect, taken collectively, much of McCarthy’s work as an actor, filmmaker and journalist hinges on the friendship motif — that primordial ache to belong, that yearning to be seen.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

"Please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance. No detail is too small. It may be the key."

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

Against his bleak forecasting is set my mother’s cheerfulness, in retrospect profoundly willed.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• hindsight