retrospective

adjective

ret·ro·spec·tive | \ ˌre-trə-ˈspek-tiv

Definition of retrospective

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a(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

retrospective

noun

Definition of retrospective (Entry 2 of 2)

: a generally comprehensive exhibition, compilation, or performance of the work of an artist over a span of years broadly : review sense 7a a retrospective of 20th century haute couture

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Did You Know?

Adjective

Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again, wrote Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1839 novel Hyperion. But these days the past is trendy, old-fashioned is hip, and "flea-market vogue" is not an oxymoron. And of course, "retrospective" is as retro as it gets. A glance at the history of "retrospective" reveals that it traces back to the Latin retro- (meaning "back," "behind," or "backward") and "specere" (meaning "to look at"). Once you have "retrospective" behind you, you can also add its kin "retrospect" (which is used as a noun, an adjective, and a verb) and "retrospection" to your vocabulary, too. "Retrospective" can also be used as a noun, referring to an exhibition that "looks back" at artistic work created over a span of years.

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: Adjective

Here, a retrospective look at her most striking—and provocative—beauty looks of all time. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "Happy Birthday, Veruschka! The '60s Supermodel's Best Beauty Looks of All Time," 14 May 2018 This June in Chicago Following a performance at Coachella, making him the first fashion designer to ever preside over Indio, California, Virgil Abloh will open a retrospective exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art this June. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "11 Reasons to Be Excited About The Year in Fashion," 4 Jan. 2019 Epilogue Michael Macalla, a member of the 1929 mission to recover remains from Russia, wrote a retrospective report on the operation, dated July 26, 1965. — WSJ, "Archangel Endnotes," 9 Nov. 2018 Northeastern University economics professor John Kwoka’s retrospective assessment of recent mergers finds that this kind of mistake has been made often. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "Amazon’s looming challenge: Europe’s antitrust laws," 21 Sep. 2018 Another 2018 retrospective study investigated those who drank alkaline water, consumed a low-acid, low-fat diet, and made behavioral changes, versus another group who took medication and made behavioral modifications. — SELF, "What Even Is Alkaline Water and Is It Really Better Than Regular Water?," 6 Sep. 2018 The first time being in 2005 at its Fifth Avenue store (to coincide with its 2005 retrospective exhibition at The Met) and the second being a year later at Grand Central Station for its Resort 2007 collection. — Lauren Alexis Fisher, Harper's BAZAAR, "Chanel to Stage Its First New York Fashion Show in Over a Decade," 4 Sep. 2018 On July 6, Kevin Macdonald’s Whitney, a retrospective homage to Whitney Houston, opened to a solid $1.2 million in limited release. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "What’s Driving Documentaries to Box-Office Success?," 11 July 2018 UC Davis oncologist David Gandara reported a retrospective analysis of seven different trials of the checkpoint inhibitor Tecentriq in lung and bladder cancer, melanoma, and other tumors. — Ken Garber, Science | AAAS, "Mutation-counting blood test could predict if cutting-edge immunotherapies can beat a cancer," 27 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The Film Society of Lincoln Center hosts a welcome retrospective celebrating the partnership of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. — New York Times, "6 Dance Performances to See in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 12 July 2018 This isn’t a career retrospective or a treatise on the importance and wide influence of Grace Jones. — Wesley Morris, New York Times, "Review: ‘Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami’ Finds the Model, Singer, Actress, Person," 12 Apr. 2018 The show, sponsored in part by Molteni&C, will be the first Ponti retrospective in France. — Alice Cavanagh, WSJ, "Explore the Genius of Italian Architect Gio Ponti," 18 Aug. 2018 The festival spotlights the latest in music film, ranging from intimate portraits of artists to career-spanning retrospectives, as well as introduces a new generation of viewers to archival films. — Rebecca Misner, Condé Nast Traveler, "What to Do in Portland, OR, in January 2019," 20 Dec. 2018 The release of the tee during Miami Art Week coincides with the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami’s retrospective, Judy Chicago: A Reckoning. — Olivia Martin, Town & Country, "Renowned Feminist Artist Judy Chicago and Max Mara Release a Limited Edition T-Shirt," 4 Dec. 2018 In late summer the first retrospective of Carter’s work, beginning with Do the Right Thing, opened at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh; Marvel lent nine costumes from Black Panther. — Rob Haskell, WSJ, "In ‘Black Panther,’ Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter Found a Career-Defining Challenge," 1 Nov. 2018 This book is as close as most will get to her current retrospective at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri, and serves as a reminder that art needn’t be big to be bold. — Curbed Staff, Curbed, "18 enticing new books on design, cities, and more," 14 Dec. 2018 Cnet recently celebrated the station’s anniversary with a retrospective, while noting its uncertain future under the Trump administration. — Adi Robertson, The Verge, "Furby hell: this week in tech, 20 years ago," 24 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'retrospective.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

29 Jan 2019

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The first known use of retrospective was in 1664

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More Definitions for retrospective

retrospective

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of retrospective

(Entry 1 of 2)

: of or relating to the past or something that happened in the past

: effective from a particular date in the past

retrospective

noun

English Language Learners Definition of retrospective (Entry 2 of 2)

: an exhibition of work that an artist has done in the past

See the full definition for retrospective in the English Language Learners Dictionary

retrospective

adjective

ret·ro·spec·tive | \ -ˈspek-tiv

Medical Definition of retrospective

1a : 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

retrospective

adjective

ret·ro·spec·tive | \ ˈre-trə-ˌspek-tiv

Legal Definition of retrospective

: 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