# retrospective vs retrospectively

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### retrospective
*adjective · IPA /ˌɹɛt.ɹə(ʊ)ˈspɛk.tɪv/ · frequency rank #15,491*
Of, relating to, or contemplating the past.

### retrospectively
*adverb · frequency rank #36,318*
In a retrospective manner.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/retrospective-vs-retrospectively