reminiscence
Americannoun
-
the act or process of recalling past experiences, events, etc.
- Synonyms:
- recollection
-
a mental impression retained and revived.
- Synonyms:
- memory
-
Often reminiscences. a recollection narrated or told.
reminiscences of an American soldier.
-
something that recalls or suggests something else.
- Synonyms:
- reminder
-
(in Platonic philosophy) anamnesis.
noun
-
the act of recalling or narrating past experiences
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(often plural) some past experience, event, etc, that is recalled or narrated; anecdote
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an event, phenomenon, or experience that reminds one of something else
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(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
Etymology
Origin of reminiscence
First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French, from Late Latin reminiscentia, from reminiscent-, stem of reminiscēns “remembering” ( see reminiscent) + -ia -y 3 ( def. )
Explanation
A reminiscence is a memory, or the act of recovering it. A visit to your old elementary school may flood your brain with reminiscences––things you hadn't thought of in years coming suddenly back. Many people find that when they travel or have quiet time to think, their brain becomes occupied with reminiscence. You can see how close the word reminiscence is in meaning to the word remember––you might think of the word reminiscence as a remembering.
Vocabulary lists containing reminiscence
Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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"Civil Disobedience," Vocabulary from the essay
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Civil Disobedience
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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.
It was the director’s first DGA win after two prior nominations, in 2008 for “There Will Be Blood” and in 2022 for his San Fernando Valley reminiscence “Licorice Pizza.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2026
"At Walpole we spend our lives preserving the past for the education and enjoyment for the next generations and reminiscence for those of us who lived it," she added.
From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026
“The combined drop in the dollar, equities and Treasuries was a reminiscence of the ‘sell America’ days of last spring,” said Pesole at ING.
From Barron's • Jan. 12, 2026
Except this isn’t a reminiscence about Dombrowski’s legacy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025
The Platonists’ doctrines of recurrence and reminiscence were not the real problem, however; both were endorsed by Proclus, who still wrote, as the Greeks did, in terms of discovery.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
