adj.
Pronunciation: - ' spek-tiv
Function: adjective
Date: 1664
1 a (1) : of, relating to, or given to retrospection (2) : based on memory <a retrospective report> b : being a retrospective <a retrospective exhibition>
2 : affecting things past : RETROACTIVE < retrospective laws>
3 : relating to or being a study (as of a disease) that starts with the present condition of a population of individuals and collects data about their past history to explain their present condition
– ret · ro · spec · tive · ly adverb