7 results for: retroactive

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ret·ro·ac·tive

Audio Help [re-troh-ak-tiv] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	operative with respect to past occurrences, as a statute; retrospective: a retroactive law.

2.	pertaining to a pay raise effective as of a past date.

[Origin: 1605–15; retro- + active

]

—Related forms

ret·ro·ac·tive·ly, adverb

ret·ro·ac·tiv·i·ty, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
retroactive

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ret·ro·ac·tive Audio Help (rět'rō-āk'tĭv) Pronunciation Key
adj. Influencing or applying to a period prior to enactment: a retroactive pay increase.

[French rétroactif, from Latin retroāctus, past participle of retroagere, to drive back : retrō-, retro- + agere, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots.]

ret'ro·ac'tive·ly adv., ret'ro·ac·tiv'i·ty n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
retroactive

1611, from Fr. rétroactif (fem. rétroactive) "casting or relating back," from L. retroactus, pp. of retroagere "drive or turn back," from retro- "back" + agere "to drive, set in motion" (see act).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

retroactive
adjective
1.	descriptive of any event or stimulus or process that has an effect on the effects of events or stimuli or process that occurred previously [ant: proactive]
2.	affecting things past; "retroactive tax increase"; "an ex-post-facto law"; "retro pay" [syn: ex post facto]

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: ret·ro·ac·tive
Pronunciation: "re-trO-'ak-tiv
Function: adjective
: having relation or reference to or efficacy in a prior time; specifically : relating to, caused by, or being obliteration of the results of learning by immediately subsequent activity <retroactive inhibition>

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: ret·ro·ac·tive
Pronunciation: "re-trO-'ak-tiv
Function: adjective
: extending in scope or effect to a prior time or to conditions that existed or originated in the past; especially : made effective as of a date prior to enactment, promulgation, or imposition <a retroactive tax> —see also EX POST FACTO LAW —ret·ro·ac·tive·ly adverb —ret·ro·ac·tiv·i·ty /-ak-'ti-v&-tE/ noun

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