retrospective

1 of 2

adjective

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

retrospective

2 of 2

noun

: 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

Did you know?

At the year's end, 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 (most familiar in the phrase in retrospect to describe thinking about the past or something that happened in the past) and retro (usually meaning "fashionably nostalgic or old-fashioned") 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

Adjective

Across these pairings, the retrospective illustrates how early festival exposure and development support helped propel emerging filmmakers onto the international stage. —Essie Assibu, Variety, 12 Mar. 2026

The retrospective exhibit places the 26,000-acre, undeveloped Georgia barrier island near Savannah among the most important artist colonies of the 20th century. —Amy Paige Condon, AJC.com, 12 Mar. 2026

Noun

The retrospective will be accompanied by a roundtable bringing together figures connected to the festival’s early history, examining how the circulation of global cinema has evolved since the early 1980s. —Essie Assibu, Variety, 12 Mar. 2026

Notable exhibitions in my tenure include some of our large retrospectives by Colorado’s most impactful artists, including Dave Yust (2008), Robert Mangold (2012), Virginia Maitland (2018), Roland Bernier (2021), Floyd Tunson (2022), Emilio Lobato (2023) and Melissa Furness (2025). —Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 9 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Noun

1929, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for retrospective

• ineffective
• intellective
• introspective
• irrespective
• nondirective
• nonselective
• unreflective
• advective
• affective
• collective
• connective
• convective

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Kids 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