BACKWARD-LOOKING Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

backward-looking

adjective

Definition of backward-looking

as in nostalgic

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of backward-looking The backward-looking sound sometimes pushes the band toward exciting switch-ups. — Victoria Borlando, Pitchfork, 24 July 2026 Since the 2008 financial crisis, virtually every major piece of legislation – from Dodd-Frank to subsequent banking reforms – has been backward-looking, designed to address past crises rather than prepare for the next frontier. — Patrick McHenry, Fortune, 16 July 2026 Jeremy Porter, chief economist at First Street, said the backward-looking models are not correcting for climate and for all the sources of risk. — Diana Olick, CNBC, 18 June 2026 As a result, Moyn says, the country’s fate and character are being determined not by forward-looking people in their youth or their prime but by backward-looking ones in the final third of their lives. — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for backward-looking

Recent Examples of Synonyms for backward-looking

Adjective

The restaurant, located in the city's SoHo neighborhood, features upscale takes on nostalgic classics like pizza rolls, French dip and lobster frites.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
With the benefit of hindsight, music journalists are now waxing nostalgic about more recent eras.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of nostalgic

Adjective

Those garlands of noise suggest that this show will be geared more toward communal arena rock than introspective bedroom pop.

— Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
About four years after sharing her last full-length album, Dirt Femme, her first since marrying husband Charlie Twaddle in 2020, the Swedish pop star, 38, is back with an introspective new body of work, Estrus, out now.

— Jack Irvin, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of introspective

Adjective

The problem of longevity possesses philosophical and practical contradictions, now heightened by the gradual disappearance of artists of Serra’s generation and the uncertain posthumous legacy of their work.

— Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Becca Rothfeld reports from the (surprisingly philosophical) Pro-Human Assembly.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of philosophical

Adjective

The company says its analytical data show heavy rare earth elements and yttrium averaging more than twice the concentration of light rare earth elements.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026
The other uses a new analytical technology, changes its strategy based partly on those findings and the trial still fails.

— George Achilleos, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of analytic

Browse Nearby Words

backward

backward-looking

backwash

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“Backward-looking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backward-looking. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of backward-looking

adjective

Example Sentences

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