photographic memory

American  

[foh-tuh-graf-ik mem-ree, mem-uh-ree] / ˈfoʊ təˌgræf ɪk ˈmɛm ri, ˈmɛm ə ri /

noun

plural

photographic memories

1. the exceptional ability to recall information with very high accuracy or vivid detail, especially visual or spatial details.

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Other Word Forms

• photographic-memory adjective

Example Sentences

With the aural equivalent of a photographic memory, she advised financial companies on regulatory and public-policy issues.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

But Cameron took it in his stride, making photographic memory books and scrapbooks of their relationship and writing notes and letters to his fiancee.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2025

The boy with a photographic memory and a penchant for detailed drawing became fascinated with identifying trees during a winter scouting excursion in the 1960s.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2023

The “Iris” actor has managed to continue acting thanks, in part, to her photographic memory.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2023

Before long he discovered he had a photographic memory.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French