retroactive

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

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

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

EPITAPH, n. An inscription on a tomb, showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effect. — The Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce
It is difficult to imagine a retroactive contract which refuses to grant men the right to live. — A history of economic doctrines : $b from the time of the physiocrats to the present day, Charles Gide

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