retrospect
ret·ro·spect/ˈɹɛtɹəˌspɛkt/noun, verb
retrospect is spelled R-E-T-R-O-S-P-E-C-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables (ret·ro·spect). It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, retrospect means “Consideration of past times” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of retrospect is retrospects.
How many letters and syllables are in retrospect?
| Letters | 10: R-E-T-R-O-S-P-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ret·ro·spect |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is retrospect?
Retrospect appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce retrospect?
- US /ˈɹɛtɹəˌspɛkt/
- US [ˈɹɛt͡ʃəˌspɛkt]
- Australia /ˈɹetɹəˌspekt/
Retrospect has 3 syllables, split ret·ro·spect in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-عُثمان_(Middle_river_exports)-retrospect.wav, En-us-retrospect.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of retrospect
- retrospects plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- retrospecting participle, present
- retrospected participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does retrospect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Consideration of past times.
verb
- 1
To look or refer back to; to reflect on.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Retrospect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense consideration of past times:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rétrospection, coup d'œil rétrospectif |
| German | Rückblick, Rückschau |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does retrospect come from?
Borrowed from Latin retrōspectum, from retrōspicio (“to look back at”), equivalent to retro- + -spect. Compare review.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).