[re-truh-spekt] 
| 1. | contemplation of the past; a survey of past time, events, etc. |
| 2. | to look back in thought; refer back (often fol. by to): to retrospect to a period in one's youth. |
| 3. | to look back upon; contemplate retrospectively. |
| 4. | in retrospect, in looking back on past events; upon reflection: It was, in retrospect, the happiest day of her life. |
| ret·ro·spect (rět'rə-spěkt') n. A review, survey, or contemplation of things in the past. v. ret·ro·spect·ed, ret·ro·spect·ing, ret·ro·spects v. intr.
To look back on or contemplate (things past). [From Latin *retrōspectus, past participle of retrōspicere, to look back at : retrō-, retro- + specere, to look at; see spek- in Indo-European roots.] ret'ro·spec'tion n. |
in retrospect
Looking backward, reflecting on the past. For example, In retrospect, he regarded his move as the best thing he'd ever done. This idiom employs retrospect in the sense of "a view of the past." [Second half of 1600s]
trəˌspɛkt