recency

American  

[ree-suhn-see] / ˈri sən si /

Sometimes recentness

noun

1. the fact of being recent, of having occurred a relatively short time ago; closeness of a past event to a later past time or to the present.

   The general nervousness during that period was mostly due to the recency of the great stock market crash.

2. the fact of being more recent than something else and therefore more salient or memorable (often used attributively).

   The data might be showing recency effects—that is, choices presented later were more likely to be selected by participants.

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Etymology

Origin of recency

recen(t) ( def. ) + -cy ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recency

The glow of a World Series appearance — also known as recency bias — enhances value.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

The first is that the well-known phenomenon of recency bias, where our brains give too much weight to recent events, is distorting our picture of stocks and bonds.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026

AI search also values recency even more than traditional search does, research by Profound suggested.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

Over 120 of these studies were given priority based on sample size, recency, relevance and the range of health conditions they addressed.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 12, 2025

Can the law of effect be interpreted as an instance of the sub-law of recency?

From Psychology A Study Of Mental Life by Robert S. Woodworth

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