retroactively

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US/ˌɹɛtɹoʊˈæktɪvli/

adverb

Done after the fact; applying to events that have previously transpired.

“The new legislature passed a resolution retroactively legalizing the actions of the revolutionaries that brought them to power.”

Less commonScrabble 21
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Meanings

adverbretroactively (not comparable)
  1. not comparableDone after the fact; applying to events that have previously transpired.

    The new legislature passed a resolution retroactively legalizing the actions of the revolutionaries that brought them to power.

    2 more examples

    Although it has been already hinted at the link between the human ability to exchange roles and the citizens' right to retroactively adjust unfitting remarks or gestures to the situation, the same connection could perhaps be better[…]

    2014 March 31, Kirill Postoutenko, Totalitarian Communication: Hierarchies, Codes and Messages, transcript Verlag, →ISBN, page 30

    Over the weekend, the Trump administration ignored a federal judge’s order not to deport a group of Venezuelan men, then later tried to retroactively justify its actions with arguments so distant from settled law and ordinary practice that legal experts have said they border on frivolous.

    2025 March 20, Amanda Taub, “‘This is worse’: Trump’s judicial defiance veers beyond the autocrat playbook”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 23 Apr 2025

Origin

From retroactive + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan retroactivament
  • retroactivamentdone after the fact
Dutch met terugwerkende kracht
  • met terugwerkende krachtdone after the fact
Estonian tagasiulatuvalt
  • tagasiulatuvaltdone after the fact
Finnish takautuvasti
  • takautuvastidone after the fact
French rétroactivement
  • rétroactivementdone after the fact
German rückwirkend
  • rückwirkenddone after the fact
Greek αναδρομικά
  • αναδρομικά (anadromiká)done after the fact
Hebrew לְמַפְרֵעַ
  • לְמַפְרֵעַ (lemafréa)done after the fact
Hungarian visszamenőleg, visszamenőlegesen
  • visszamenőlegdone after the fact
  • visszamenőlegesendone after the fact
Irish go aisghníomhach
  • go aisghníomhachdone after the fact
Italian retroattivamente
  • retroattivamentedone after the fact
Norwegian Bokmål retroaktivt
  • retroaktivtdone after the fact
Polish retroaktywnie
  • retroaktywniedone after the fact
Portuguese retroativamente
  • retroativamentedone after the fact
Spanish retroactivamente
  • retroactivamentedone after the fact
Swedish retroaktivt
  • retroaktivtdone after the fact
Turkish geriye dönük
  • geriye dönükdone after the fact
Cite this entry
APA

retroactively. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroactively

MLA

“retroactively.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroactively. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retroactively,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroactively.

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