| 1. | directed to the past; contemplative of past situations, events, etc. |
| 2. | looking or directed backward. |
| 3. | retroactive, as a statute. |
| 4. | an art exhibit showing an entire phase or representative examples of an artist's lifework. |
| 5. | any exhibition or series of showings or performances, as of musical works or motion pictures, representing the work of an artist or performer over all or a major part of a career: a retrospective of John Ford's movies. |