ret·ro·spect
ˈre-trə-ˌspekt 
1
: a review of or meditation on past events
2
archaic
: reference to or regard of a precedent or authority
retrospected; retrospecting; retrospects
: to go back over in thought
Synonyms
Examples of retrospect in a Sentence
Noun
in retrospect, we should have saved more money for college
Recent Examples on the Web
Eric Boodman, STAT, 6 June 2024
In retrospect, one of the operatives said, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol should have subpoenaed everyone in the room, including the operative himself.
—Elizabeth Williamson, New York Times, 25 May 2024
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024
There’s easy access to the mountains, numerous canyons to explore, beautiful sunsets and a retrospect view of Great Salt Lake.
—Paighten Harkins, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 Sep. 2023
Mark Danner, The New York Review of Books, 1 July 2021
See all Example Sentences for retrospect 
Noun
Then again, Lawson also pointed out that post-sterilization regret is common and may be playing an important role in some cases in which a doctor’s words seem coercive in retrospect.
—Eric Boodman, STAT, 6 June 2024
In retrospect, one of the operatives said, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol should have subpoenaed everyone in the room, including the operative himself.
—Elizabeth Williamson, New York Times, 25 May 2024
Adjective
Yet even if the interdiction on restaurants was, in retrospect, excessive, no one could have known that then.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024
There’s easy access to the mountains, numerous canyons to explore, beautiful sunsets and a retrospect view of Great Salt Lake.
—Paighten Harkins, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 Sep. 2023
Verb
In retrospect the unfolding of Watergate in the press and the courts and Congress is our American Oresteia.
—Mark Danner, The New York Review of Books, 1 July 2021
See all Example Sentences for retrospect
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'retrospect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near retrospect
Cite this Entry
“Retrospect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retrospect. Accessed 11 Jun. 2024.
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