Definitions

1. verb

to go back in time mentally or in the imagination, or to make something appear to be older than it is

“The artist retrodated the furniture to give the room a vintage look.”

2. verb

to consider or regard something as if it had occurred at an earlier date, typically for the purpose of establishing a legal precedent

“The judge ruled that the law retrodated to the date of the original contract.”

3. noun

the act of going back in time mentally or in the imagination, or the state of being regarded as if something had occurred at an earlier date

“The artist’s use of retrodate in his painting added to its historical value.”