Retroactive

//ˌɹɛ.tɹoʊˈæk.tɪv// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Extending in scope, effect, application or influence to a prior time or to prior conditions not-comparable

    "Rather, he hoped there was some legal trickeration he could deploy to get a retroactive water right filed and end-run the opposition."

Adjective
  1. 1
    affecting things past wordnet
  2. 2
    descriptive of any event or stimulus or process that has an effect on the effects of events or stimuli or process that occurred previously wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
ex post factoa prioriantiphonalbackbackwardearly

Example

More examples

"An epitaph is an inscription on a tomb, showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effect."

Etymology

First attested in 1610. From French rétroactif, equivalent to retro- + active.

Related phrases

retroactive rapeex post facto

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.