reminisce

American  

[rem-uh-nis] / ˌrɛm əˈnɪs /

verb (used without object)

• reminisces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reminisced,
  past participle,  past
• reminiscing
  present participle

1. 

   to recall past experiences, events, etc.; indulge in reminiscence.

   Synonyms:

   muse, recollect, remember

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reminisce British  

/ ˌrɛmɪˈnɪs /

verb

1. (intr) to talk or write about old times, past experiences, etc

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• reminiscing
  present
• reminisced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• reminisce
  simple
• reminisces
  simple
• have reminisced
  perfect
• has reminisced
  perfect
• am reminiscing
  progressive
• are reminiscing
  progressive
• is reminiscing
  progressive
• have been reminiscing
  perfect progressive
• has been reminiscing
  perfect progressive

Past

• reminisced
  simple
• had reminisced
  perfect
• was reminiscing
  progressive
• were reminiscing
  progressive
• had been reminiscing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will reminisce
  simple
• will have reminisced
  perfect
• will be reminiscing
  progressive
• will have been reminiscing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of reminisce

First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from reminiscence

Explanation

Reminisce is a dreamy way of saying "remember the past." If you're swapping old stories with friends and remembering all the silly things you used to do, then you're reminiscing. Reminiscing is all about happy recollections and thinking back to stories from the past. It's hard to reminisce about the old days with someone you don't know very well or haven't known very long, since a key part of reminiscing is a shared history. But just about anyone can reminisce about going elementary school, learning to tie shoelaces, or getting that first job.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reminisce reminisces reminisced reminiscing

Shortly after he and Adrian reminisce about the mishap in Munich, McElwee continues his narration.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

"Over a shared drink, we get to reminisce about parts of our life, military service, raising a family, the loss of a friend, and celebrating the golden phase of our lives."

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Its title is taken from the name of a New York club of considerable legend, and Madonna uses the setting to reminisce about her wild days in this milieu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

"The games make us reminisce about our childhood... not only can we be healthier, but we can also enjoy that nostalgic feeling with our inner child," Akira said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

The Osage come from all over to attend the dances, which provide a chance to see old family and friends and cook out and reminisce.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

You can see a decade of disappointments in a shot of Lozita going slack-faced as her mother reminisces about how nice she and Big Ant looked at their wedding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Perhaps it should surprise no-one that a country whose national anthem reminisces about sending an invading English army homeward "tae think again" does not stand four-square behind the "Auld Enemy".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

She reminisces on a childhood growing up in a repressive household during the 1960s, when second-wave feminism and the women’s liberation movement were just starting to achieve legitimacy.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026

She also reminisces about how Mar-a-Lago is where her father gave Barron swim lessons, Donald Trump played golf with Barron, and Barron took his first tennis lessons with her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026

Naano gushes as she reminisces about this most wonderful day.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen reminisced about working two jobs, living with roommates and eating ramen after college.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Others were pulled back to their lab days: “Considering volunteering my services as I have unintentionally killed Desmodesmus cultures many times,” one scientist reminisced on Bluesky.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026

“The cry was ‘never again,’” said Bob Yamada, the agency’s former head of water resources, as he reminisced over lunch recently at a mall in La Jolla.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

She came to visit him on his last day as a full-time midwife and reminisced about the care he provided Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry,

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

He reminisced about walking down the street with my mom to the Super 99, the dust blowing up everywhere, the heat pounding down, and about looking for crabs between the rocks along the bay.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez

Casado, a Stanford University Ph.D. in computer science, remembers attending Hot Chips, an annual Stanford semiconductor conference, in the early 2000s, when it was largely populated by industry retirees reminiscing about the good old days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Harry Styles opened the first night of his record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium by reminiscing about his audition for The X Factor, 16 years ago.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Whether Musk was supporting SpaceX’s valuation or reminiscing about Tesla is unclear.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

And there is always a healthy dollop of nostalgia when reminiscing about kits - those hazy childhood memories relived through a golden filter.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

Vince and I sat together at the church dinner, reminiscing about our earlier dates, and for the first time I felt as though we were good friends again.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

Related Words

• look back
• remind