nonretroactivity

noun

The quality (especially of a law) of not being retroactive.

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Meanings

nounnonretroactivity (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe quality (especially of a law) of not being retroactive.

    The question for the court in this case was whether state courts, in considering postconviction appeals from criminal defendants, are bound by the same rule of nonretroactivity.

    2008 February 21, Linda Greenhouse, “Justices Rule on Retroactivity of Decisions”, in New York Times

Origin

From non- + retroactivity.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nonretroactivity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonretroactivity

MLA

“nonretroactivity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonretroactivity. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nonretroactivity,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonretroactivity.

Source: nonretroactivity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.