hindsight

noun

hind·​sight ˈhīn(d)-ˌsīt 

: perception of the nature of an event after it has happened

In hindsight, it's clear there were alternatives.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty.

Examples of hindsight in a Sentence

It's easy for us to say that the war was wrong, but we have the advantage of hindsight.

Recent Examples on the Web

The justification that one was merely following orders has always looked rotten in hindsight. —Robert Kesten, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025

In hindsight, that was critical for our impartiality, but something brought our opinions together. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Aug. 2025

While hindsight is 20/20, this warning should have spurred Healey to keep the red carpet in the closet. —Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2025

The factors that in hindsight might explain the country’s abrupt upheaval—its swift economic growth followed by a downturn, its rapid urbanization, its authoritarianism, its corruption—were fairly normal. —Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing hindsight

• twenty-twenty hindsight

Rhymes for hindsight

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight

Kids Definition

hindsight

noun

hind·​sight ˈhīn(d)-ˌsīt 

: realization of the meaning or importance of an event only after it has happened