reminiscence

[rem-uh-nis-uhns]

See more synonyms for reminiscence on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act or process of recalling past experiences, events, etc.
a mental impression retained and revived.
Often reminiscences. a recollection narrated or told: reminiscences of an American soldier.

something that recalls or suggests something else.
(in Platonic philosophy) anamnesis(def 2).

Origin of reminiscence

1580–90; < Middle French < Late Latin reminiscentia. See reminiscent, -ence

Synonyms for reminiscence

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1. recollection. 2. memory. 3. anecdote, tale, memoir. 4. reminder.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for reminiscence

remembrance, recollection, anecdote, remembering, story, chronicle, nostalgia, yarn, memory, memoirs, reliving

Examples from the Web for reminiscence

Contemporary Examples of reminiscence

A scene about Townsend will slip into a reminiscence about his childhood, or a forecasting of his death.
American Dreams, 2003: The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Nathaniel Rich
November 26, 2013
The photo-sharing app that was recently sold to Facebook for a billion dollars (yes, with a “b”) also peddles in reminiscence.
As Americans Yen for a More Promising Past, Obama Charges Forward
Judith Grey
June 3, 2012
When a reminiscence got going in the Back Trace, nights, it worked like a freestyle morphine jazz.
Must Reads: Kennedy, Sontag and Paris, ‘A Partial History of Lost Causes,’ ‘City of Bohane,’ ‘Flatscreen’
Lauren Elkin, Mythili Rao, Drew Toal, Nicholas Mancusi
April 6, 2012
Elimination is your watchword, whether chucking 20th century memorabilia or relationships hinged on reminiscence.
Horoscopes: May 29-June 4, 2011
Starsky + Cox
May 28, 2011
Lois and Frank's suicide pact in the series finale—as they reminiscence about halcyon days—is a chance for peace and release.
Big Love's 12 Most Memorable Moments
Jace Lacob
March 19, 2011

Historical Examples of reminiscence

Let us then content ourselves with a reminiscence of the opening night.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 14, July 2, 1870
Various
He did not advance any reminiscence of what had happened since he came to the schloss.
The First Violin
Jessie Fothergill
And suddenly there appeared in her face a reminiscence of the face of the Marchesino.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
He relapsed into silence, smiling and dwelling with gratification on this reminiscence.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola
And memory is the preservation of consciousness, and reminiscence is the recovery of consciousness.
Philebus
Plato

British Dictionary definitions for reminiscence

reminiscence

noun

the act of recalling or narrating past experiences
(often plural) some past experience, event, etc, that is recalled or narrated; anecdote
an event, phenomenon, or experience that reminds one of something else
(in the philosophy of Plato) the doctrine that perception and recognition of particulars is possible because the mind has seen the universal forms of all things in a previous disembodied existence
psychol the ability to perform a task better when tested some time after the task has been learnt than when tested immediately after learning it

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for reminiscence

1580s, "act of remembering," from Middle French reminiscence (14c.) and directly from Late Latin reminiscentia "remembrance, recollection" (a loan-translation of Greek anamnesis), from Latin reminiscentem (nominative reminiscens), present participle of reminisci "remember, recall to mind," from re- "again" (see re-) + minisci "to remember," from root of mens "mind," from PIE root *men- "mind, understanding, reason" (see mind (n.)). Meaning "a recollection of something past" is attested from 1811.