reminisce

American  

[rem-uh-nis] / ˌrɛm əˈnɪs /

verb (used without object)

• reminisces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reminisced,
  past participle,  past
• reminiscing
  present participle

1. 

   to recall past experiences, events, etc.; indulge in reminiscence.

   Synonyms:

   muse, recollect, remember

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reminisce British  

/ ˌrɛmɪˈnɪs /

verb

1. (intr) to talk or write about old times, past experiences, etc

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• reminiscing
  present
• reminisced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• reminisce
  simple
• reminisces
  simple
• have reminisced
  perfect
• has reminisced
  perfect
• am reminiscing
  progressive
• are reminiscing
  progressive
• is reminiscing
  progressive
• have been reminiscing
  perfect progressive
• has been reminiscing
  perfect progressive

Past

• reminisced
  simple
• had reminisced
  perfect
• was reminiscing
  progressive
• were reminiscing
  progressive
• had been reminiscing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will reminisce
  simple
• will have reminisced
  perfect
• will be reminiscing
  progressive
• will have been reminiscing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of reminisce

First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from reminiscence

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Explanation

Reminisce is a dreamy way of saying "remember the past." If you're swapping old stories with friends and remembering all the silly things you used to do, then you're reminiscing. Reminiscing is all about happy recollections and thinking back to stories from the past. It's hard to reminisce about the old days with someone you don't know very well or haven't known very long, since a key part of reminiscing is a shared history. But just about anyone can reminisce about going elementary school, learning to tie shoelaces, or getting that first job.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reminisce reminisces reminisced reminiscing

Its title is taken from the name of a New York club of considerable legend, and Madonna uses the setting to reminisce about her wild days in this milieu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

People don’t just reminisce about their favorite evening at The Cheesecake Factory.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

"The games make us reminisce about our childhood... not only can we be healthier, but we can also enjoy that nostalgic feeling with our inner child," Akira said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

And you know, the people who had to come over here due to various reasons, often reminisce on what they had back home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

There were times when I wanted badly to tell her, when I wanted us to reminisce about Hailsham with the tape playing in the background.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Ed O’Brien of Radiohead is strolling down the beach in Santa Monica on a recent afternoon as he reminisces about his first trip to Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

She reminisces on a childhood growing up in a repressive household during the 1960s, when second-wave feminism and the women’s liberation movement were just starting to achieve legitimacy.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026

She also reminisces about how Mar-a-Lago is where her father gave Barron swim lessons, Donald Trump played golf with Barron, and Barron took his first tennis lessons with her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026

In “Tonight, Tonight,” Corgan reminisces, “And our lives are forever changed, we will never be the same.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025

Naano gushes as she reminisces about this most wonderful day.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen reminisced about working two jobs, living with roommates and eating ramen after college.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Walking through, Hajj Ali reminisced on her home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, which she was only able to visit once after an April truce that ultimately failed to stop the fighting.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

She reminisced about date nights spent on ferris wheels, and dreamt of raising kids in a house with "a driveway with a basketball hoop".

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Others were pulled back to their lab days: “Considering volunteering my services as I have unintentionally killed Desmodesmus cultures many times,” one scientist reminisced on Bluesky.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026

He reminisced about the stimulating conversations that took place in rustic pubs over warm beer.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

"You've always been a bit gung-ho with your guitars," Gallagher said, reminiscing about borrowing the instrument - a black 1982 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo - to appear on the cover of Oasis' 1994 debut single Supersonic.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Casado, a Stanford University Ph.D. in computer science, remembers attending Hot Chips, an annual Stanford semiconductor conference, in the early 2000s, when it was largely populated by industry retirees reminiscing about the good old days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Whether Musk was supporting SpaceX’s valuation or reminiscing about Tesla is unclear.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

The pair linked up on a video call arranged by the BBC, reminiscing about the Swap Shop appearance and catching up on the years since.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026

Now he spent most of his days reminiscing on his porch and tending to an absence belted into a wheel-chair.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

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Related Words

• look back
• remind

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