ret·ro·spec·tive
ˌre-trə-ˈspek-tiv 
1
a(1)
: of, relating to, or given to retrospection
(2)
: based on memory
a retrospective report
b
: being a retrospective
a retrospective exhibition
2
: affecting things past : retroactive
retrospective laws
3
: relating to or being a study (as of a disease) that starts with the present condition of a population of individuals and collects data about their past history to explain their present condition
retrospectively
adverb
: a generally comprehensive exhibition, compilation, or performance of the work of an artist over a span of years
Did you know?
At the end of the year, both introspection and retrospection are common. While introspection involves looking inward and taking stock of oneself, retrospection is all about recollecting and contemplating things that happened in the past. A look back at the history of the related adjective retrospective reveals that it retains a strong connection to its past; its Latin source is retrospicere, meaning “to look back at.” Retrospective can also be used as a noun referring to an exhibition that “looks back” at an artist’s work created over a span of years. Once you have retrospective and retrospection behind you, you can also add their kin retrospect and retro to your vocabulary, too.
Examples of retrospective in a Sentence
Adjective
They issued a retrospective report.
a retrospective analysis of what went wrong
The museum is having a retrospective exhibit of the artist's early works.
Noun
The museum is featuring a retrospective of Picasso's early works.
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
The new documentary is part of a big retrospective moment for the Beach Boys, following the publication of their first official book, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys, earlier this month.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2024
Considering the musical, the retrospective, the rising auction prices, perhaps the world is ready now.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson recently submitted a retrospective planning application, in the hope of getting permission to restart the work, The Telegraph said.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
His métier isn’t memoir, with its careful, retrospective analysis, but rather the roiling potential of the unresolved present tense.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival is set to celebrate the centennial of Columbia Pictures with a retrospective featuring classic titles spawned by the Hollywood studio between the dawn of sound and the late 1950s.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024
Audit Workflows, which provides a single-source solution for prospective and retrospective reviews of all chart types, now allows users to set minimum dates of service when performing re-audits to prevent overlapping service dates.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
Madonna is currently in the midst of her retrospective Celebration Tour, which kicked off last year in Europe before coming Stateside.
—Oliver Gettell, EW.com, 15 Mar. 2024
Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 12 Apr. 2024
At a retrospective of John Singer Sargent’s portraits in London, where the American expatriate fled after creating a scandal in Paris, clothes offer both armor and self-expression.
—Zachary Small, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
There's also pay-per-view and premium live event archives as well as original content, including press conferences held after premium live events, WWE career retrospectives and vlogs from wrestlers.
—Michelle Chapman, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024
Laura Pausini made her world tour stop at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday (March 30), delivering a retrospective of songs that celebrated her 30-year career.
—Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 31 Mar. 2024
The final exhibition before the pandemic was a retrospective of the late Chicana feminist artist Yolanda López, who was raised in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
The Hollywood icons are getting a new retrospective in Erotic Vagrancy: Everything about Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, a new book by Roger Lewis forthcoming on March 26 from Mobius.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
Alfred Hitchcock retrospective at Oriental Theatre The Master of Suspense gets his due with a two-month retrospective at the Oriental Theatre.
—Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2024
Niro, who recently received the first major retrospective of her work at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, tells Variety that the generous grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. helped secure a professional, caring working environment.
—Jennie Punter, Variety, 9 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Though Ruscha’s multivalent work was the subject of a mid-career survey at LACMA in 1982, his retrospective — eight years in the making, partly because of COVID — has arrived at a peak moment.
—Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
The new documentary is part of a big retrospective moment for the Beach Boys, following the publication of their first official book, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys, earlier this month.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2024
Considering the musical, the retrospective, the rising auction prices, perhaps the world is ready now.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson recently submitted a retrospective planning application, in the hope of getting permission to restart the work, The Telegraph said.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
His métier isn’t memoir, with its careful, retrospective analysis, but rather the roiling potential of the unresolved present tense.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival is set to celebrate the centennial of Columbia Pictures with a retrospective featuring classic titles spawned by the Hollywood studio between the dawn of sound and the late 1950s.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024
Audit Workflows, which provides a single-source solution for prospective and retrospective reviews of all chart types, now allows users to set minimum dates of service when performing re-audits to prevent overlapping service dates.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
Madonna is currently in the midst of her retrospective Celebration Tour, which kicked off last year in Europe before coming Stateside.
—Oliver Gettell, EW.com, 15 Mar. 2024
Noun
Steinberg was one of the driving forces behind a 2014 retrospective of Ray Eames work at the California Museum and an advocate for the Eames designation for the park.
—Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 12 Apr. 2024
At a retrospective of John Singer Sargent’s portraits in London, where the American expatriate fled after creating a scandal in Paris, clothes offer both armor and self-expression.
—Zachary Small, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
There's also pay-per-view and premium live event archives as well as original content, including press conferences held after premium live events, WWE career retrospectives and vlogs from wrestlers.
—Michelle Chapman, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024
Laura Pausini made her world tour stop at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday (March 30), delivering a retrospective of songs that celebrated her 30-year career.
—Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 31 Mar. 2024
The final exhibition before the pandemic was a retrospective of the late Chicana feminist artist Yolanda López, who was raised in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
The Hollywood icons are getting a new retrospective in Erotic Vagrancy: Everything about Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, a new book by Roger Lewis forthcoming on March 26 from Mobius.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
Alfred Hitchcock retrospective at Oriental Theatre The Master of Suspense gets his due with a two-month retrospective at the Oriental Theatre.
—Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2024
Niro, who recently received the first major retrospective of her work at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, tells Variety that the generous grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. helped secure a professional, caring working environment.
—Jennie Punter, Variety, 9 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'retrospective.' 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 retrospective
Cite this Entry
“Retrospective.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retrospective. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
retrospective
1 of 2 adjective
ret·ro·spec·tive
ˌre-trə-ˈspek-tiv
: of, relating to, or given to retrospection
retrospectively
adverb
retrospective
2 of 2 noun
: an exhibition, compilation, or performance of work that an artist has done in the past
Medical Definition
retrospective
adjective
ret·ro·spec·tive
-ˈspek-tiv
1
a
: of, relating to, or given to introspection
b
: relating to or being a study (as of a disease) that starts with the present condition of a population of individuals and collects data about their past history to explain their present condition compare prospective
2
: based on memory
retrospectively
adverb
Legal Definition
retrospective
adjective
ret·ro·spec·tive
ˈre-trə-ˌspek-tiv
: affecting things past : retroactive
specifically
: of, relating to, or being a law that takes away or impairs vested rights, creates new duties or obligations, or attaches new disabilities with respect to acts and transactions completed before its enactment
retrospectively
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share