retrospection

[ re-truh-spek-shuhn ]

/ ˌrɛ trəˈspɛk ʃən /

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See synonyms for retrospection on Thesaurus.com

noun

the action, process, or faculty of looking back on things past.

a survey of past events or experiences.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of retrospection

First recorded in 1625–35; retrospect + -ion

Words nearby retrospection

retrorse, retroserrate, retroserrulate, retrosexual, retrospect, retrospection, retrospective, retrospectively, retroussage, retroussé, retroversion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use retrospection in a sentence

They’re just happy to be here, and forty years from now, they’ll look back on this time with the same rosy retrospection I do for my own youth.
Raising Kids When the World Is Ending|Teddy Wayne|July 13, 2022|Time
The cognitive errors that occur while reconstructing and forgetting certain memories lead to rosy retrospection, a process in which “people tend to think back on the past more fondly than what they experienced at that time.”
Am I still Chinese enough?|Vivian Hir ’25|February 23, 2022|MIT Technology Review
The second half of the episode dove into the mandated 30 minutes of retrospection necessary for any series finale.
I Watched ‘Psych’ For 8 Years and All I Got Was This Lackluster Finale|Chancellor Agard|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even if this is true, (indeed, if this is the case, it only aggravates the insult); avoid such retrospection.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

For two or three minutes the illusion remained, till it was banished by retrospection.
The Kellys and the O'Kellys|Anthony Trollope
But far more exalted pleasures of memory and retrospection await the Christian in a future world.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I|Francis Augustus Cox
In sober retrospection it was almost incredible that the thin khaki line had held against the overwhelming odds which faced it.
The Canadian Dominion|Oscar D. Skelton
He persuaded his sisters, therefore, to walk out with him, to while away at once expectation and retrospection.
Camilla|Fanny Burney

British Dictionary definitions for retrospection

retrospection

/ (ˌrɛtrəʊˈspɛkʃən) /

noun

the act of recalling things past, esp in one's personal experience

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

retrospection

Origin of retrospection

Words nearby retrospection

Words related to retrospection

How to use retrospection in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for retrospection