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
Etymology
Origin of nostalgia
First recorded in 1770–80; from New Latin, from Greek nóst(os) “a return home” + -algia -algia
Explanation
Think of the noun nostalgia when you long for the good old days of the past. The noun nostalgia was invented by a Swiss doctor in the late 1600s. He put together the Greek nostos "homecoming" and algos "pain, distress" as a literal translation of the German Heimweh "homesickness." Originally, it was a medical diagnosis for mercenary soldiers. Today, it describes a bittersweet longing for the past. Think of the dreamy way your grandpa tells stories of his childhood — he's got nostalgia.
Vocabulary lists containing nostalgia
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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ACT Vocabulary List
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The Alchemist
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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.
I miss the nostalgia of the milk man delivering glass gallon jugs to our home in open wooden crates, and how we’d leave the old glass jugs out for him to recycle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The song is a nostalgia hit for the elder millennials in the room, and it crystallizes this moment in time in the early 2000s, girls on the cusp of adulthood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Beauty, Prada and Starbucks all simultaneously woo consumers with stop-motion and hand-drawn advertising, how long until nostalgia and the human touch wears off?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
This is the power of nostalgia – and a perfect example of how video games can trigger it.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
But there was no time for nostalgia or to stop and stroke a velvety nose.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
