recollect
Americanverb (used with object)
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to recall to mind; recover knowledge of by memory; remember.
- Antonyms:
- forget
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to absorb (oneself ) in spiritual meditation, especially during prayer.
verb (used without object)
verb
Synonym Usage
See remember.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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recollectivenessnoun
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misrecollectverb
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nonrecollectiveadjective
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recollectiveadjective
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self-recollectiveadjective
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unrecollectiveadjective
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recollectivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recollectsimple
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recollectssimple
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have recollectedperfect
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has recollectedperfect
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are recollectingprogressive
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am recollectingprogressive
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is recollectingprogressive
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have been recollectingperfect progressive
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has been recollectingperfect progressive
Past
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recollectedsimple
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had recollectedperfect
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was recollectingprogressive
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were recollectingprogressive
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had been recollectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recollect
First recorded in 1550–60; from Medieval Latin recollēctus, past participle of recolligere “to remember, recollect” ( Latin: “to gather up again”); see re-, collect 1
Explanation
To recollect is to remember. You might struggle to recollect your high school French but have no trouble recollecting every ingredient in your dad's cinnamon roll recipe. If you ask your grandfather to recollect his experiences in high school, you want him to remember some great stories from his youth. The Latin root word, recolligere, means "to collect again," from the prefix re, "again," and colligere, "gather or collect." You can think of recollect as meaning "to gather again from your memory."
Vocabulary lists containing recollect
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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Vocabulary: A Rapper's Delight!
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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.
Currently, the tool can only pull your 3,200 most recent tweets, but Recollect is well-positioned to be the go-to source for storing our all of our personal digital chronicles.
From Forbes • Nov. 15, 2012
“I remember you had a red rose like this’n in yore hair the day I decided to marry you. Recollect thet Sunday, Miss Mattie Lou?”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Recollect, all the time, that we are to be governed by reason and naturalness.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 10 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Legal by Ingersoll, Robert Green
Recollect now, that he had a tabular statement.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 10 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Legal by Ingersoll, Robert Green
Recollect what I have said, and draw whatever you please from the words; that's your business.
From Uncle's dream; And The Permanent Husband by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
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.
