I. ret ‧ ro ‧ spec ‧ tive 1 /ˌretrəˈspektɪv◂/ BrE AmE adjective [usually before noun]
1 . related to or thinking about the past:
a retrospective study of 110 patients
2 . British English a law or decision that is retrospective is effective from a particular date in the past SYN retroactive :
retrospective legislation
Teachers settled for a 4.2% pay rise with retrospective effect from 1 April.
—retrospectively adverb :
The new rule will be applied retrospectively.
II. retrospective 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
a show of the work of an ↑ artist , actor, ↑ film-maker etc that includes examples of all the kinds of work they have done:
a Hitchcock retrospective
retrospective of
a retrospective of painter Hans Hofmann