retrospect
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
idioms
noun
verb
-
to contemplate (anything past); look back on (something)
-
to refer
Etymology
Origin of retrospect
1595–1605; probably retro- + (pro)spect
Explanation
In retrospect — that is, in looking back and contemplating the past — we sometimes find ourselves wishing that we had done some things differently. Though this word most commonly appears as a noun in the phrase "in retrospect," it can also be used as a verb. The prefix retro- means “back," and spect is a component of the words inspect, spectator, spectacles, and perspective, among others, which all have to do with looking or seeing. So it makes sense that retrospect means to look back in time, or to remember.
Vocabulary lists containing retrospect
Wonder
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Common Senses: Spec, Spect, Spic ("Look")
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To All the Boys I've Loved Before
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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.
“In retrospect maybe they ought to have tightened a little sooner and a little more,” Binder said.
From MarketWatch • May 10, 2026
The extent of the deficit probably contributed to Guardiola opting to reintroduce the Frenchman into the side - a lucky decision in retrospect.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
In retrospect, she wishes she had taken more control when they were together.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
He’s bemused in retrospect by the strange spectacle of a “little white boy in short trousers” frolicking with a Black man old enough to be his father.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
In retrospect, Fenn told me, “One of George Washington’s most brilliant moves was to inoculate the army against smallpox during the Valley Forge winter of ’78.”
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
