Can you say 'In hindsight'?

1. The most common expression is 'with hindsight,' which is short for 'with the benefit of hindsight.'
Hindsight is a function of the mind that analyses and re-assesses past experiences, re-evaluating past decisions and actions in the light of present knowledge.

"hindsight n. understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened or developed: with hindsight, I should never have gone." -_{Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009.}

Example of usage in an economics report:

• "With hindsight, the ECB (bank) rate rise, just weeks before the Lehman (investment bank) collapse, appears a policy mistake." -_{Financial Times.com, June 28, 2009.}

2. A similar expression is 'in retrospect,' (Latin retrospectus) which means thinking now about something in the past.

• "In retrospect, all revolutions seem inevitable. Beforehand, all revolutions seem impossible." _{- Michael McFaul, US National Security Council, quoted in NY Times June 21, 2009.}
  

3. 'Hindsight' is a relatively new word in the English language. It was first seen in print in 1851 and meant, quite simply, the 'back-sight of a rifle.' But the first recorded usage to mean 'perception after the event' was as recent as 1883. In due course this second meaning of the word 'hindsight' was also listed in dictionaries

It seems possible, therefore, that the two phrases, i.e. the much older expression 'in retrospect' and the newer 'with hindsight,' have become (mistakenly?) mixed, producing an addional (but hybrid?) expression 'in hindsight.'

4.1 Even so, 'in hindsight' (meaning 'looking back,' or 'in retrospect') is often now used, although perhaps less frequently than 'with hindsight.'

4.2 'In Hindsight' in Report and Article titles:
An annual report might be entitled "The Year: In Hindsight" meaning that the review of the past year is being presented from a position of looking backwards from where we are now, taking a retrospective view if things.

5. The word 'hindsight' can also be used by itself, without any preposition:

• "Hindsight is an exact science, but foresight, whilst extremely desirable, is more problematic!"
• "Hindsight is a wonderful thing!"

CONCLUSION, AND TIP FOR LEARNERS:
In general conversation, it would seem best to say 'in hindsight.' This is the form shown in The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, and in the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary 2004.

For more information, see Related links below.