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Synonyms

experience

American  
[ik-speer-ee-uhns] / ɪkˈspɪər i əns /

noun

  1. a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something.

    My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience.

  2. the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something.

    business experience.

  3. the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time.

    to learn from experience; the range of human experience.

  4. knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone.

    a man of experience.

  5. Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered.


verb (used with object)

experienced, experiencing
  1. to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel.

    to experience nausea.

    Synonyms:
    suffer, endure, brook, bear
  2. to learn by experience.

idioms

  1. experience religion, to undergo a spiritual conversion by which one gains or regains faith in God.

experience British  
/ ɪkˈspɪərɪəns /

noun

  1. direct personal participation or observation; actual knowledge or contact

    experience of prison life

  2. a particular incident, feeling, etc, that a person has undergone

    an experience to remember

  3. accumulated knowledge, esp of practical matters

    a man of experience

    1. the totality of characteristics, both past and present, that make up the particular quality of a person, place, or people

    2. the impact made on an individual by the culture of a people, nation, etc

      the American experience

  4. philosophy

    1. the content of a perception regarded as independent of whether the apparent object actually exists Compare sense datum

    2. the faculty by which a person acquires knowledge of contingent facts about the world, as contrasted with reason

    3. the totality of a person's perceptions, feelings, and memories

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to participate in or undergo

  2. to be emotionally or aesthetically moved by; feel

    to experience beauty

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What is another way to say experience? To experience something is to meet with it or feel it firsthand. How is experience different from undergo? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

  • experienceable adjective
  • experienceless adjective
  • postexperience adjective
  • preexperience noun
  • reexperience verb

Etymology

Origin of experience

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin experientia, equivalent to experient- (stem of experiēns, past participle of experīrī “to try, test”; ex- 1, peril ) + -ia noun suffix; -ence

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A large preliminary study found that people diagnosed with CAA were about four times more likely to develop dementia within five years, even if they had never experienced a stroke.

From Science Daily

"We lost our focus because we got a little too distracted on efficiency and technology, and lost, I think, our focus on experience, customer and connection," he said.

From BBC

They should not have done, because they have got enough experience throughout their team to know better - but what was most worrying is this is not the first time it has happened recently.

From BBC

Arsenal captain Kim Little added: "It's obviously a unique experience - it being the first Champions Cup. We'll take a lot from winning today and getting a trophy."

From BBC

Understanding the biological basis of subjective experience may help researchers develop better therapies for conditions such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia by narrowing the gap between animal studies and human emotional experience.

From Science Daily