Standard Lemma guide

retro

adj · noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • rĕt′rō
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɹɛt.ɹəʊ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈɹɛt.ɹoʊ/
  • Australian: /ˈɹet.ɹəʉ/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈɹet.ɹɐʉ/
  • South-Asia: /reʈˈroː/
  • rhymes with -ɛtɹəʊ
  • CMU ARPABET: R EH1 T R OW0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of, or relating to, the past, past times, or the way things were.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Affecting things past; retroactive, ex post facto.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Past fashions or trends.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Abbreviation of retrorocket.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Abbreviation of retrospective.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A chess puzzle of retrograde analysis, requiring the solver to work out the history of moves leading to the position presented.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: board-games, chess, games

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

affecting things past

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ex post facto, retroactive

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

a fashion reminiscent of the past

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fashion

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French rétro, ultimately from Latin retro.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: retro- — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Finnish: vanhanaikainen — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Finnish: uusvanha — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • French: rétro — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Polish: retro — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Portuguese: retrô — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Russian: ре́тро- (rétro-) — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Russian: устаре́вший (ustarévšij) — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Russian: старомо́дный (staromódnyj) — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Swedish: retro — of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • Finnish: takautuva — affecting things past; retroactive, ex post facto
  • Finnish: retroaktiivinen — affecting things past; retroactive, ex post facto
  • French: rétro — affecting things past; retroactive, ex post facto
Real reading context

retro in complete knowledge articles