reminiscence
noun
rem·i·nis·cence ˌre-mə-ˈni-sᵊn(t)s 
1
: apprehension of a Platonic idea as if it had been known in a previous existence
2
a
: recall to mind of a long-forgotten experience or fact
b
: the process or practice of thinking or telling about past experiences
3
a
: a remembered experience
b
: an account of a memorable experience —often used in plural
4
: something so like another as to be regarded as an unconscious repetition, imitation, or survival
Synonyms
- anamnesis
- memory
- recall
- recollection
- remembrance
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
his reminiscences about the war were painful to hear we wondered whether she could trust her reminiscence of events that happened so long ago
Recent Examples on the Web What snapped Bushman out of her reminiscence, though, is the notion that summer campfires could be, in the not-so-distant future, a thing grandparents tell stories about rather than around. 
Julie Jag, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 July 2022 The poem is an extended reminiscence of the nine months that Gunn spent living on Talbot Road in Notting Hill Gate in 1964–1965, a sabbatical funded by an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Mark Ford, The New York Review of Books, 25 May 2022 Still, its quick tempo and rockabilly reminiscence likely induce some foot tapping. Allaire Nuss, EW.com, 17 June 2022 Those are notions that, as this winning little film reminiscence makes clear, are common to us all. Michael O'sullivan, Washington Post, 24 May 2022 As a result, 'Girls' is a bittersweet comedic reminiscence of what was a tragic time in pop culture. Mary Cadden, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2022 At the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday, the intrepid journalist got lost again, in a good way —in reminiscence and in conversation with Times columnist Mary McNamara. Tyler Malone, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2022 The whole walk after Crum Hall was maybe a mile, part reminiscence and part photo opp. Brett Dawson, The Courier-Journal, 19 Mar. 2022 Both Licorice Pizza and West Side Story also revel in cinephilic reminiscence, though less memoiristically than Belfast. Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2022 See More
Julie Jag, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 July 2022 The poem is an extended reminiscence of the nine months that Gunn spent living on Talbot Road in Notting Hill Gate in 1964–1965, a sabbatical funded by an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Mark Ford, The New York Review of Books, 25 May 2022 Still, its quick tempo and rockabilly reminiscence likely induce some foot tapping. Allaire Nuss, EW.com, 17 June 2022 Those are notions that, as this winning little film reminiscence makes clear, are common to us all. Michael O'sullivan, Washington Post, 24 May 2022 As a result, 'Girls' is a bittersweet comedic reminiscence of what was a tragic time in pop culture. Mary Cadden, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2022 At the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday, the intrepid journalist got lost again, in a good way —in reminiscence and in conversation with Times columnist Mary McNamara. Tyler Malone, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2022 The whole walk after Crum Hall was maybe a mile, part reminiscence and part photo opp. Brett Dawson, The Courier-Journal, 19 Mar. 2022 Both Licorice Pizza and West Side Story also revel in cinephilic reminiscence, though less memoiristically than Belfast. Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
reminiscence
noun
rem·i·nis·cence ˌre-mə-ˈni-sᵊns
1
: the act of recalling or telling of a past experience
2
reminiscences plural : a story of a person's memorable experiences
reminiscence
noun
1
as in recollection
a particular act or instance of recalling or the thing remembered his reminiscences about the war were painful to hear Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- recollection
- memory
- memorial
- recall
- anamnesis
- remembrance
- reminder
- souvenir
- flashback
- token
- memento
- association
2
as in memory
the power or process of recalling what has been previously learned or experienced we wondered whether she could trust her reminiscence of events that happened so long ago Synonyms & Similar Words
- recollection
- memory
- remembrance
- mind
- perception
- reflection
- comprehension
- thinking
- retrospection
- understanding
- awareness
- meditation
- consciousness
- musing
- contemplation
- total recall
- cognizance
- hypermnesia
- grasp
- apprehension
- grip
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- repression
- amnesia
- forgetfulness
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of reminiscence are memory, recollection, and remembrance. While all these words mean "the capacity for or the act of remembering, or the thing remembered," reminiscence suggests the recalling of usually pleasant incidents, experiences, or feelings from a remote past.
my grandmother's reminiscences of her Iowa girlhood
While the synonyms memory and reminiscence are close in meaning, memory applies both to the power of remembering and to what is remembered.
gifted with a remarkable memory
that incident was now just a distant memory
Although the words recollection and reminiscence have much in common, recollection adds an implication of consciously bringing back to mind often with some effort.
after a moment's recollection he produced the name
The meanings of remembrance and reminiscence largely overlap; however, remembrance applies to the act of remembering or the fact of being remembered.
any remembrance of his deceased wife was painful
- put on a clinic
- put on a happy face
- put on a happy/brave face
- put on a pedestal
- put on airs
- put on an act
- put on hiatus
- put on one's thinking cap
- put on probation
- put on show
- put on the dog
- put on the feed bag
- put on the feedbag
- put on the map
- put on to
- put one foot in front of the other
- put one out of action
- put one up to
- put one's back into
- put one's best foot forward
- put one's cards on the table
- put one's ducks in a row
- put one's feet up
- put one's finger on
- put one's finger on the pulse of