retrospectoscope
retrospectoscope noun: a hypothetical instrument that allows diagnostic and management decisions to be made with medical hindsight.
Noun
retrospectoscope (plural retrospectoscopes)
- A hypothetical instrument that allows diagnostic and management decisions to be made with medical hindsight.
- A distinguished private foundation, that shall be nameless, offered me a small grant if l would test out their crystal ball with its two new attachments; one of them called the retrospectoscope and the other called the prognosticator.1972, American Veterinary Medical Association. Council on Education, Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, University of Athens. School of Veterinary Medicine, Learning experiences...
- The view through the retrospectoscope is almost always clear, precise, and correct.1983, Bernard N. Nathanson, The abortion papers: inside the abortion mentality, →ISBN
Examples of retrospectoscope in a sentence
- Once we are proficient in using both the retrospectoscope and the prospectoscope, we are ready to use the perspectoscope—the scope that all patients deserve.1991, Herbert L. Fred, Say Aah (hah)!: A Medical Educator Mouths Off:
- Using the famous "retrospectoscope" technique, in which events of the past can be brought into sharper focus, one can sometimes identify the fear-inducing stimulus quite accurately in time and space.2000, Nicholas H. Dodman, Dogs Behaving Badly: An A-Z Guide to Understanding and Curing Behavorial Problems in Dogs, Bantam, →ISBN:
- I have also had to learn that just as the lens of the retrospectoscope provides false clarity, the lens of unbridled optimism distorts reality.2002, Jane Poulson, The Doctor Will Not See You Now, Novalis Press (CN)
Forms of retrospectoscope
| plural | retrospectoscopes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | retrospectroscope |
Origin of retrospectoscope
From retrospect(ive) + -o- + -scope.
Questions about retrospectoscope
- What does retrospectoscope mean?
- Retrospectoscope means a hypothetical instrument that allows diagnostic and management decisions to be made with medical hindsight.
- How do you use retrospectoscope in a sentence?
- Once we are proficient in using both the retrospectoscope and the prospectoscope, we are ready to use the perspectoscope—the scope that all patients deserve.
- What part of speech is retrospectoscope?
- Retrospectoscope is a noun.
- What is the plural of retrospectoscope?
- The plural of retrospectoscope is retrospectoscopes.
Words near retrospectoscope in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: retrospectoscope (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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Cite this entry: “retrospectoscope.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retrospectoscope. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.