Retroactivity

noun

noun ·6 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state or characteristic of being retroactive. uncountable, usually
  2. 2
    The application of a law to events that took place before it was made. uncountable, usually

    "Should the legislation pass with the retroactivity provision, the firm's percentage would apply to the amount already due the states; if not, it would apply to the amount they collect over the next 12 years."

Synonyms

All synonyms
retroactivenessretroactiveness

Example

More examples

"Should the legislation pass with the retroactivity provision, the firm's percentage would apply to the amount already due the states; if not, it would apply to the amount they collect over the next 12 years."

Etymology

From retroactive + -ity.

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