retrospect
contemplation of the past; a survey of past time, events, etc.
to look back in thought; refer back (often followed by to): to retrospect to a period in one's youth.
to look back upon; contemplate retrospectively.
Idioms about retrospect
in retrospect, in looking back on past events; upon reflection: It was, in retrospect, the happiest day of her life.
Origin of retrospect
1Words Nearby retrospect
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use retrospect in a sentence
I think that in retrospect I should have asked that the piece be held.
Where there really is … The vertical nature of a lot of places, including the shop that I ran, I find to be, in retrospect, a big mistake, because it makes people feel like that they either have to rise up or leave.
He also said that “in retrospect” it was a mistake to partner with the group.
Philadelphia let ‘college kids’ distribute vaccines. The result was a ‘disaster,’ volunteers say. | Antonia Noori Farzan | January 27, 2021 | Washington PostIn retrospect, the pandemic not only fueled PC market demand but also created opportunities that resulted in a market expansion.
PC sales have surged for at-home workers and learners during the pandemic | Aaron Pressman | January 11, 2021 | FortuneIt seems, in retrospect, almost inevitable that I would think of Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales.
How did all these books get into my house? There’s a method to what seems like madness. | Michael Dirda | January 6, 2021 | Washington Post
To say this is not to ignore its radical character, especially in retrospect.
“In retrospect, I think we were both surprised,” recalled Singh.
As 30-Year Anniversary of Mass Killings in India Arrives, Sikhs Find Safety in USA | Simran Jeet Singh | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn retrospect, 2009 and 2010 were halcyon days in the Middle East, now that we seem just one horseman short of an apocalypse.
“Only in retrospect did we appreciate our good fortune in being part of a utopian experiment in American journalism,” she writes.
He struck many people there, at the time, not in retrospect, as arrogant and cold.
The retrospect will reveal to them a busy, thronging life underlying the serenity of history.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian SharmanIt is only in the retrospect that we have been able to grasp something of the effectual case against us.
The New Machiavelli | Herbert George WellsHe actually enjoyed in retrospect the humiliation of the man, and his heart beat with the excitement of hearing more.
Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton MackenzieAn impartial retrospect will not permit a commendation of the plan.
The History of Tasmania , Volume II (of 2) | John WestIt was seen plainly in retrospect; he had not noticed it much at the time.
Tristram of Blent | Anthony Hope
British Dictionary definitions for retrospect
/ (ˈrɛtrəʊˌspɛkt) /
the act of surveying things past (often in the phrase in retrospect)
to contemplate (anything past); look back on (something)
(intr often foll by to) to refer
Origin of retrospect
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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