Retrospect as a verb

[arcanegem]

Can the word "retrospect" be used as a verb? Mostly ,I have heard people say "in retrospect,".

Let's say a person is really disappointed with his career choice and is now working in the IT sector instead of the arts. He regrets all the decisions he has made, and now he is trying to do better and not make any wrong choices.

Here, I know I can say "In retrospect, my decision was suboptimal; I could have done well" but is it possible to say "I retrospect on things from the past"? Don't only think about the given context; I just gave you an idea of exactly what I am trying to ask. I just want to know if it can be used as a verb.

 

[heypresto]

I just want to know if it can be used as a verb.

No. Not in this context, or any other context I could possibly imagine.

 

[Loob]

I agree with heypresto that I wouldn't use it in your context or, probably, at all. But it is, in principle, possible to use it as a verb: see Retrospect - WordReference.com Dictionary of English.

....
Here's a previous thread in which TT says he wouldn't use it as a verb: review/look back upon/retrospect.

 

[Le Gallois bilingue]

I agree with heypresto that I wouldn't use it in your context or, probably, at all. But it is, in principle, possible to use it as a verb: see Retrospect - WordReference.com Dictionary of English.

....
Here's a previous thread in which TT says he wouldn't use it as a verb: review/look back upon/retrospect.

In Chambers 21st century dictionary retrospect is not a verb. Indeed, in BritE, I have never heard or read it used so. Beware of WorldReference!

 

[Loob]

In Chambers 21st century dictionary retrospect is not a verb. Indeed, in BritE, I have never heard or read it used so. Beware of WorldReference!

Just to say: it's the two WR Random House dictionaries that show it as a verb.
That said, the OED has BrE citations too, such as:
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa II. xxxv. 236 If I could not thus retrospect and argue.

WorldReference!

I know WR is widely used, but just the same....

 

[The Newt]

In Chambers 21st century dictionary retrospect is not a verb. Indeed, in BritE, I have never heard or read it used so. Beware of WorldReference!

Nor have I ever come across it in AE.

 

[Le Gallois bilingue]

Just to say: it's the two WR Random House dictionaries that show it as a verb.
That said, the OED has BrE citations too, such as:
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa II. xxxv. 236 If I could not thus retrospect and argue.


I know WR is widely used, but just the same....

1747!

 

[Loob]

I'm not sure what your point is, Le Gallois bilingue. I'm not arguing for using "retrospect" as a verb: far from it. I am saying, though, that your "Beware of WR!" comment is unwarranted.

 

[Le Gallois bilingue]

I'm not sure what your point is, Le Gallois bilingue. I'm not arguing for using "retrospect" as a verb: far from it. I am saying, though, that your "Beware of WR!" comment is unwarranted.

In what way, I’m not clear.

 

[heypresto]

In Chambers 21st century dictionary retrospect is not a verb.

It's in my Chambers 13th edition. And in Collins, and what used to be Lexico/Oxford.

That's not to say I think it should ever see the light of day in the Real World.

 

[Loob]

From a quick look at Google Books, it seems to be used primarily in the field of psychology.

 

[PaulQ]

but is it possible to say "I retrospect on things from the past"?

No, and for two reasons:

1. to retrospect has very limited currency and sounds strange.
2. from the past is tautologous - if "to retrospect" were a current verb, it would necessarily imply the past: you could not "retrospect the present or future."

"I retrospect on things from the past"
"I look back on things"

 

[bennymix]

Merriam Webster Unabr, for AE has these entries:

intransitive verb
1: to practice retrospection<able to retrospect at fairly long distances backward — Vancouver (Canada) Morning Star>
2: to refer back : reflect<it may be useful to retrospect to an early period — Alexander Hamilton>
transitive verb
: to go back over in thought : consider or think of with reference to the past<retrospected the faces and minds of grown people — Samuel Richardson>

Note to arcanegem: See the correct (if dated**) transitive use: No 'on' .

ADD: Thanks Paul, change this to (very dated).

 

[PaulQ]

Merriam Webster Unabr, for AE has these entries:

Quite seriously, this is valid but misleading.

It gives the impression that "to retrospect" would not be seen as strange and gives the idea to the student that it is OK to use it.

However, the truth of the matter is that the use of the verb is likely to be seen as a mistake by a non-native speaker (or pretentious or wrong by a native speaker.)

In English, there are some words that you can use but that does not mean that you should use them.

 

[bennymix]

It seems to live on in some arenas in the US (as possibly international) psychology and sociology literature:

Forgetting to Remember Our Experiences: People Overestimate How Much They Will Retrospect About Personal Events​

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Forthcoming
15 Pages Posted: 12 Dec 2016 Last revised: 14 Nov 2017

Abstract​

People value experiences in part because of the memories they create. Yet, we find that people systematically overestimate how much they will retrospect about their experiences. This overestimation results from people focusing on their desire to retrospect about experiences, while failing to consider the experience’s limited enduring accessibility in memory.

Forgetting to Remember Our Experiences: People Overestimate How Much They Will Retrospect About Personal Events

 

[velisarius]

Perhaps it's normal in Indian English, which is a legitimate variety of English.

I googled the phrase "it should retrospect", and the few examples I found came from the sub-continent.

As for "retrospecting on things from the past", if you are retrospecting you are looking back (in time), so any further rpeference to the past seems to me superfluous.

 

[arcanegem]

Perhaps it's normal in Indian English, which is a legitimate variety of English.

I googled the phrase "it should retrospect", and the few examples I found came from the sub-continent.

As for "retrospecting on things from the past", if you are retrospecting you are looking back (in time), so any further rpeference to the past seems to me superfluous.

That's the problem. I'm unable to differentiate between varieties of English. I have seen some words in Indian English that, when used while conversing with natives, they don't get, or they might, but it sounds unnatural.
And you are spot-on , I have heard an indian actor say this word, he said "when I sit back and retrospect I realize how far I have come"
But I find AE and BE the safest,