Link Centre Dictionary

retroactive

ret·roac·tive

UK/ˌɹɛt.ɹəʊˈæk.tɪv/ US/ˌɹɛ.tɹoʊˈæk.tɪv/ uncommon

adjective

1.

descriptive of any event or stimulus or process that has an effect on the effects of events or stimuli or process that occurred previously

Antonyms
2.

affecting things past

  • “retroactive tax increase”
  • “an ex-post-facto law”
  • “retro pay”

Origin

First attested in 1610. From French rétroactif, equivalent to retro- + active.

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.