remembrance

American  

[ri-mem-bruhns] / rɪˈmɛm brəns /

noun

• remembrances
  plural

1. a retained mental impression; memory.

   Synonyms:

   reminiscence, recollection

2. the act or fact of remembering.

3. the power or faculty of remembering.

   Synonyms:

   memory

4. the length of time over which recollection or memory extends.

5. the state of being remembered; commemoration.

   to hold someone's name in remembrance.

6. something that serves to bring to mind or keep in mind some place, person, event, etc.; memento.

   Synonyms:

   memorial, token, souvenir, trophy, keepsake

7. a gift given as a token of love or friendship.

   I sent her a small remembrance on Mother's Day.

8. remembrances, greetings; respects.

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remembrance British  

/ rɪˈmɛmbrəns /

noun

1. the act of remembering or state of being remembered

2. something that is remembered; reminiscence

3. a memento or keepsake

4. the extent in time of one's power of recollection

5. 1. the act of honouring some past event, person, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a remembrance service

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonremembrance
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• remembrances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of remembrance

1300–50; Middle English < Old French; see remember, -ance

Explanation

Remembrance is when someone remembers things — your grandfather might have uncanny remembrance of his childhood, for example. The noun remembrance is really just another way to say "memory." It's the process of remembering things that happened in the past. In Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," the character of Ophelia famously says, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance." The smell of the herb has actually been shown to improve memory, and has historically been a symbol of remembrance. Early uses of remembrance had the meaning "keepsake or souvenir."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

remembrance remembrances

Raphi Bloom, chair of the Yom Kippur Commemoration, said the service was "not only about remembrance" but was also about resilience and "honouring Melvin and Adrian by ensuring that Jewish life continues to flourish".

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

However, in contemporary Austria, demands for remembrance are increasingly clashing with "the opposite tendency, namely to say: 'Now this really has to stop'," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

The Grammy-winning “Flowers” singer and “Hannah Montana” star remembered her “Aunt Dolly” on Wednesday in a remembrance posted to Instagram.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

It is, at moments, elegiac in its remembrance of the people whose suffering and resistance gave birth to the citizenship clause.

From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026

It was a barbed arrow-head in my breast; it tore me when I tried to extract it; it sickened me when remembrance thrust it farther in.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Head was nothing like that fiction, demonstrated in the many remembrances that are still circulating in the wake of his death, which follows that of his wife, Sarah Fisher, by a matter of months.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

He launches a passionate defence of preserving remembrances of the past, even if that past is "problematic" as a way of "ensuring public memory of its injustice".

From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025

Humber has since discovered a mention in an old newspaper of another baseball game played in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1819, also on militia muster day, which he says lends credence to Ford’s remembrances about Beachville.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

Then, another season officially commenced, one that will be marked by constant remembrances of last year’s triumphant conclusion — and, the Dodgers hope, ends with another World Series parade, and opening day celebration in 2026.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025

In a letter to Professor Asa Gray on January 28,1876, he wrote: Pray give our very kind remembrances to Mrs. Gray.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

Related Words

• commemoration
• memento
• memorial
• reminder