ret·ro·spect
ˈre-trə-ˌspekt 
1
: a review of or meditation on past events
2
archaic
: reference to or regard of a precedent or authority
see also:
retrospected; retrospecting; retrospects
: to go back over in thought
Examples of retrospect in a Sentence
Noun
in retrospect, we should have saved more money for college
Recent Examples on the Web
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 24 May 2026
Loach says in retrospect his connection with continental European partners made perfect sense, and has given him greater freedom across his career.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 19 May 2026
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026
In retrospect, those fears were overstated.
—Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Mark Danner, The New York Review of Books, 1 July 2021
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Noun
All that business about Xander acting as a therapy bot for veterans turned out, in retrospect, to be Carl’s personal beta testing for the much more lucrative application of assisting future veterans in bombing targets from the air.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 24 May 2026
Loach says in retrospect his connection with continental European partners made perfect sense, and has given him greater freedom across his career.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 19 May 2026
Adjective
Which, in retrospect, feels like the perfect origin story for the movie itself.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026
In retrospect, those fears were overstated.
—Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Verb
In retrospect the unfolding of Watergate in the press and the courts and Congress is our American Oresteia.
—Mark Danner, The New York Review of Books, 1 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for retrospect
Cite this Entry
“Retrospect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retrospect. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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