retrospective

[re-truh-spek-tiv]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR retrospective ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

directed to the past; contemplative of past situations, events, etc.

looking or directed backward.

retroactive, as a statute.

noun

an art exhibit showing an entire phase or representative examples of an artist's lifework.

any exhibition or series of showings or performances, as of musical works or motion pictures, representing the work of an artist or performer over all or a major part of a career: a retrospective of John Ford's movies.

Origin of retrospective

First recorded in 1655–65; retrospect + -ive

Related formsret·ro·spec·tive·ly, adverbret·ro·spec·tive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for retrospective

reflective, contemplative, remembering, pensive, backward, retroactive

Examples from the Web for retrospective

Contemporary Examples of retrospective

In 1980, a retrospective of the artist at the Museum of Modern Art in New York captivated Hockney.
The Many Lives of Artist David Hockney
William O’Connor
November 23, 2014
To celebrate a retrospective box set, entitled Nothing Has Changed, Bowie has released a video for one of two new songs included.
David Bowie Goes Big Band in New Music Video
Alex Chancey, The Daily Beast Video
November 14, 2014
“When Tibor died we did a retrospective of MCo., and the lamp was the last thing you saw,” she says.
The Singular Artist of New Yorkistan
Lizzie Crocker
November 14, 2014
Frank Gehry is enjoying a major moment: his retrospective is in full swing in Paris and his latest creation opens today.
Frank Gehry Is Architecture’s Mad Genius
Sarah Moroz
October 27, 2014
So what better way to craft that reminder than with a retrospective of famous, dead figures who defined Ukrainian identity?
The Ukrainian Face Collector Launches an Exhibition in Kiev
Nina Strochlic
August 21, 2014

Historical Examples of retrospective

He looked out to sea with a meditative and retrospective mind.
Nell, of Shorne Mills
Charles Garvice
A historical interest may be not only retrospective but contemporary.
Parodies of Ballad Criticism (1711-1787)
William Wagstaffe
"That's a fact," answered Amos to the retrospective musings of the Judge.
The Arena
Various
What a painful reverse may not the retrospective view afford!
The English Spy
Bernard Blackmantle
How do the deeds of ill Throng round the retrospective glance!
A Leaf from the Old Forest
J. D. Cossar

British Dictionary definitions for retrospective

retrospective

adjective

looking or directed backwards, esp in time; characterized by retrospection

applying to the past; retroactive

noun

an exhibition of an artist's life's work or a representative selection of it

Derived Formsretrospectively, adverbretrospectiveness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for retrospective

adj.

1660s, from retrospect + -ive. As a noun, from 1964, short for retrospective exhibition (1908), etc. Related: Retrospectively.