retrospect.

Consideration of the past from a later position or with later knowledge.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• in retrospect
• seen in retrospect

On the page

In retrospect, the small disagreement looked like an early sign of the larger conflict.

Seen in retrospect, the decision appeared simpler than it had to those making it.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Usually uncountable in the standard phrase in retrospect. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: narrative transformation, conception and possibility, memory representation, anticipatory detail. Disciplines: literary writing, advanced general English, narrative analysis. Commonness: moderately common.