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

But truth be told, in hindsight, the timing is way better now for me. —Jack Irvin, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025

In hindsight, Jeff Gorton probably deserves some credit. —Arpon Basu, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2025

Everybody who heard Nuggets pressers could tell, in hindsight, just how starkly the tone had changed compared to, say, 2019-2024. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 12 Apr. 2025

Then he was handled clumsily during the pandemic release of Tenet, and what in hindsight seems a terrible decision to release the feature slate day-and-date. —Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 11 Apr. 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