Word.ws English Dictionary

hindsight is 20/20

hindsight is 20/20 proverb: in hindsight things are obvious that were not obvious from the outset; one is able to evaluate past choices more clearly than at the time of the choice.

Proverb

hindsight is 20/20

  1. (idiomatic) In hindsight things are obvious that were not obvious from the outset; one is able to evaluate past choices more clearly than at the time of the choice.
    • Another common error dealing with memory is that of "hindsight bias." This is the tendency to exaggerate what could have been anticipated in the past. This is also known as "Monday morning quarter backing" or "hindsight is 20/20" where the "right" decision as to what should have been done appears...2009, Joseph Grcic, Facing Reality: An Introduction to Philosophy, Revised edition, Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, page 57
    • Honestly? If you would have told me that becoming a professional tennis player might net me a decent supply of free pasta, I would have never begged my mom to quit my lessons. 😭 Hindsight = 20/20.2023 July 30, Gretty Garcia, “Coco Gauff Is Still a Teenager, but Her Net Worth Reveals That She’s Already a Millionaire”, in Cosmopolitan

Origin of hindsight is 20/20

From the term 20/20 referring to normal visual acuity.

Questions about hindsight is 20/20

What does hindsight is 20/20 mean?
Hindsight is 20/20 means in hindsight things are obvious that were not obvious from the outset; one is able to evaluate past choices more clearly than at the time of the choice.
What part of speech is hindsight is 20/20?
Hindsight is 20/20 is a proverb.

Words near hindsight is 20/20 in the dictionary

  1. Hinds County
  2. Hindses
  3. hindside
  4. hindsides
  5. hindsight
  6. hindsight is 20/20
  7. hindsightism
  8. hindsightly
  9. hindsights
  10. hindstomach
  11. hindstomachs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hindsight is 20/20 (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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