retroaction

IPA/ˌret.rəʊˈæk.ʃən/
IPA/ˌret.roʊˈæk.ʃən/

retroaction — noun

1. when a law, tax, or official decision is made to take effect from a point in tim

1.名詞C1
釋義

when a law, tax, or official decision is made to take effect from a point in time that has already passed, so it changes the legal standing of earlier events

例句

Retroaction of the tax law forced Stefan to pay extra money for the past three years.

retroaction + of + [law/tax/rule]

Adaeze challenged the retroaction of the new penalty in court, calling it fundamentally unfair.

同義詞
  • retroactivity

    broader and more common; refers to the quality of being retroactive rather than the act of applying it

  • retrospectivity

    more general term, used outside legal contexts as well

  • ex post facto application

    specifically used in criminal law for laws that punish past conduct

反義詞
  • prospectivity

    the principle that laws should only apply to future events

文法句型

retroaction + of + law/tax/rule/decision

用法筆記

Distinguish from retroactivity: retroaction names the act or process of applying something to the past, while retroactivity describes the quality or state (the fact that something is retroactive). In legal writing, retroaction is often paired with words like clause, provision, or principle.

常見錯誤

❌The government decided to retroaction the regulation.
✅The government decided to apply retroaction to the regulation.
💡retroaction is a noun, not a verb. The verb form is 'to make retroactive' or 'to apply retroactively.'
❌Companies complained about the law's retroaction, saying the new safety standards were too strict.
✅Companies complained about the law's retroaction, saying it was unfair to punish them for actions that were legal at the time.
💡retroaction is about timing (applying rules to the past), not about the content or strictness of the rules themselves.