hindsight

English

Etymology

From hind +‎ sight, 19th c. Compare Latinate retrospect.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪn(d)saɪt/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

hindsight (countable and uncountable, plural hindsights)

1. Realization or understanding of the significance and nature of events after they have occurred.

   You know what they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty.

   When you read "Seven Little Rabbits" at age 6 and read it again 15 years later, the hindsight you've developed in the time between will make you look at and think of the book very differently!

   • 1961 March, “Talking of trains”, in Trains Illustrated, page 133:

     Hindsight is more easily acquired than foresight.

2. (rare) The rear sight of a firearm.

Antonyms

• foresight

Hypernyms

• sight

Derived terms

• hindsight is 20/20
• hindsightly
• in hindsight
• twenty-twenty hindsight

 

Translations

after-the-fact realisation or understanding

• Afrikaans: nawete
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 事后诸葛亮 (zh) (shìhòu Zhūgě Liàng), ^{(please verify)} 马后炮 (zh) (mǎhòupào)

• Czech: zpětný pohled m
• Danish: bagklogskab (da) c
• Dutch: terugblik (nl) m
• Finnish: jälkiviisaus
• French: recul (fr) m
• German: Rückblick (de) m
• Italian: senno di poi (it) m
• Japanese: 後知恵 (あとぢえ, ato jie)
• Kannada: ಹಿನ್ನೋಟ (kn) (hinnōṭa)
• Norwegian: etterpåklokskap m
• Portuguese: retrospecto (pt) m
• Russian: взгля́д в про́шлое m (vzgljád v próšloje), ретроспективный взгляд m (retrospektivnyj vzgljad)
• Spanish: retrospectiva (es) f, perspectiva (es) f, noción "a posteriori", conocimiento "a posteriori"
• Swedish: efterklokhet (sv)
• Turkish: retrospektif (tr)

rear sight of a firearm

• Bulgarian: прицел (bg) m (pricel)
• Finnish: takatähtäin
• Russian: прицел (ru) m (pricel)

See also

• afterknowledge
• hindlook
• retrospect