SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
retrospective
adjective
Looking back on past events or work.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Looking back
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topRetrospective concerns review of earlier events or work. Commemorative honors an occasion, while historical can concern the past without reviewing it from a later standpoint.
RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The retrospective family
These forms are closely related, but their grammar and use are not identical. Expand a form to compare its meaning and examples.
retrospectnoun
A view or consideration of past events.
Consideration of the past
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
In retrospect, the early warning was easier to recognize.
In retrospect, I probably should have taken the position.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See retrospective in use
The retrospective exhibition covered five decades of the painter's work.
The team's retrospective notes look back over earlier frame versions and explain which choices solved problems and which had to be replaced.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license