retrospect

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English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin retrōspectum, from retrōspicio (to look back at), equivalent to retro- +‎ -spect. Compare review.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈɹɛtɹəˌspɛkt/
  • Audio (General American):(file)
  • Hyphenation: ret‧ro‧spect

Noun

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retrospect (plural retrospects)

  1. Consideration of past times.
    Antonym: prospect
    • 1853, Charlotte Bronte, Villette:
      My mind, calmer and stronger now than last night, made for itself some imperious rules, prohibiting under deadly penalties all weak retrospect of happiness past; commanding a patient journeying through the wilderness of the present...
    • 1976, Terry Kay, The Year the Lights Came On, University of Georgia Press, published 1989, →ISBN, page 298:
      Whether, like Colin, in retrospect Willie Lee and Baptist would feel that what has vanished was greater than what was achieved, is not something we can predict.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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retrospect (third-person singular simple present retrospects, present participle retrospecting, simple past and past participle retrospected)

  1. To look or refer back to; to reflect on.

See also

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Anagrams

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