nostalgia
Americannoun
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a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.
a nostalgia for his college days.
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something that elicits or displays nostalgia.
noun
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a yearning for the return of past circumstances, events, etc
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the evocation of this emotion, as in a book, film, etc
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longing for home or family; homesickness
Other Word Forms
- nostalgic adjective
Etymology
Origin of nostalgia
First recorded in 1770–80; from New Latin, from Greek nóst(os) “a return home” + -algia -algia
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.
“It’s a good idea to come back to those worlds, not by nostalgia, but by urgency,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
The book cover trend, imbued with nostalgia for childhood, promises fiction that grapples with the pangs of adulthood in an age of precarity.
From Los Angeles Times
The tour will run from June to November and will celebrate the 75 years with a live evening of "storytelling, nostalgia and behind-the-scenes insight into how the show is made", a spokesperson said.
From BBC
The rugged individualists’ arguments run the gamut from a sincere nostalgia — many chairs designed and installed in the 20th century didn’t even have safety bars, they note — to the intentionally absurd.
From Los Angeles Times
Animals and nature, as well as railways and TV nostalgia, featured strongly among the ideas sent in to the BBC's Your Voice when we asked for your views on banknote themes last year.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
