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retrospect

American  
[re-truh-spekt] / ˈrɛ trəˌspɛkt /

noun

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

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 )

"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

verb

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

  2. to refer

"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

Etymology

Origin of retrospect

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

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.

But in retrospect it was a matter of when, not if.

From Barron's

In retrospect, it looks even worse than that.

From Salon

She said that, as her adrenaline was pumping, she didn’t fear for her personal safety, “though in retrospect, maybe I should have.”

From Los Angeles Times

The ambitious stock-market target put in place by South Korea’s new president last summer is in retrospect looking too cautious.

From MarketWatch

In retrospect, he said, he would have made a move on the leaders earlier had he known the pack was going to hang back.

From Los Angeles Times

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.