backward-looking

adjective

Definition of backward-lookingnext
as in nostalgic

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of backward-looking The backward-looking sound sometimes pushes the band toward exciting switch-ups. — Victoria Borlando, Pitchfork, 24 July 2026 Since the 2008 financial crisis, virtually every major piece of legislation – from Dodd-Frank to subsequent banking reforms – has been backward-looking, designed to address past crises rather than prepare for the next frontier. — Patrick McHenry, Fortune, 16 July 2026 Jeremy Porter, chief economist at First Street, said the backward-looking models are not correcting for climate and for all the sources of risk. — Diana Olick, CNBC, 18 June 2026 As a result, Moyn says, the country’s fate and character are being determined not by forward-looking people in their youth or their prime but by backward-looking ones in the final third of their lives. — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for backward-looking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backward-looking
  1. nostalgic
  2. retrospective
  3. introspective
  4. philosophical
  5. analytic
Adjective
  • The anthem video features Zankov speaking about tactile and nostalgic references, such as leather softened by a long journey and the feeling of cashmere on the skin, that inspired the collection.
    — David Moin, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Coincidentally named Jordan Green, he is played by Rock himself and cuts a retro figure, with an outfit—a rain jacket, a tie, a fedora—that reads like a nostalgic nod to classic-jazz album covers.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of nostalgic
Adjective
  • The Pop master is the subject of a retrospective opening this week at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • But Chee’s first-person, present-tense narration differs from most in being, in a seeming paradox, retrospective.
    — Garth Greenwell, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of retrospective
Adjective
  • Thankfully, Brandon is one of Austen’s most introspective suitors, and Nordrum is not unlike the character in real life — thoughtful, gentle and a little self-effacing.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The patience required to piece them together paints Winehouse as an introspective woman as opposed to her party girl that the tabloids portrayed her as.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of introspective
Adjective
  • This contestation takes place through philosophical debates, religious disputations, and public discussions, whether direct or indirect, open or clandestine.
    — Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Ultron’s philosophical snarkiness and jaded, exasperated air from Age of Ultron carry over here.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of philosophical
Adjective
  • Yet, as in many speculative markets, sophisticated participants often have access to better information, stronger analytical tools and more advanced risk-management techniques than retail participants, giving them an informational edge.
    — Aneri Jambusaria, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • For as well as circulating information, print spread habits of analytic thought.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of analytic

Browse Nearby Words

backward
backward-looking
backwash
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Backward-looking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backward-looking. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All