Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

retroact

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: retroact
IPA

10

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To act retrospectively or in opposition

verb

to be retrospective.

verb

To apply (a law) retroactively to situations that predate the enactment of the law.

Example Sentences

"In their eyes the past was good or bad for itself, and the present good or bad for itself, and an evil past could no more shadow a virtuous present than a virtuous present could retroact to brighten or redeem an ugly past."
"Sec. 4. The effectivity of this Act shall retroact to January 1, 2001."

Etymology

From retro- + act.

Word Breakdown

Prefix: retro

Inflected Forms

retroacts (present, singular) retroacting (participle, present) retroacted (participle, past) retroacted (past)

Questions

What does retroact mean?: To act retrospectively or in opposition
Where does retroact come from?: From retro- + act.

How to pronounce retroact

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