retrospective
Noun · AdjectiveUS[ret-ruh-spek-tiv]/ˌrɛtrəˈspɛktɪv/4 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (1)
- an exhibition of a representative selection of an artist's life workType of art exhibition
Adjective (1)
- concerned with or related to the past“retrospective self-justification”Opposite prospectiveSimilar ex post facto, retroactiveSee also backward
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Re′tro·spec′tive adjective
Origin: Cf. F. rétrospectif.
1. Looking backward; contemplating things past; — opposed to prospective; as, a retrospective view.
The sage, with retrospective eye.— Alexander Pope
2. Having reference to what is past; affecting things past; retroactive; as, a retrospective law.
Inflicting death by a retrospective enactment.— Thomas Babington Macaulay
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54