retroact

English

Etymology

retro- +‎ act

Verb

retroact (third-person singular simple present retroacts, present participle retroacting, simple past and past participle retroacted)

1. To act retrospectively, or in return; to act in opposition; to be retrospective.
   • 1884, Edward Bellamy, “Chapter 15”, in Miss Ludington's Sister:

     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.

2. (law) To apply (a law) retroactively to situations that predate the enactment of the law.
   • 2001, Republic of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 9010:

     Sec. 4. The effectivity of this Act shall retroact to January 1, 2001.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “retroact”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Translations

to act backward, or in return; to act in opposition; to be retrospective

• French: rétroagir (fr)
• Italian: retroagire (it)