recollect
1 of 2verb (1)
rec·ol·lect ˌre-kə-ˈlekt 
recollected; recollecting; recollects
transitive verb
1
: to bring back to the level of conscious awareness : remember
trying to recollect the name
2
: to remind (oneself) of something temporarily forgotten
intransitive verb
: to call something to mind
re-collect
2 of 2verb (2)
re-col·lect ˌrē-kə-ˈlekt
re-collected; re-collecting; re-collects
transitive verb
: to collect again
especially : rally, recover
Synonyms
Verb (1)
- flash back (to)
- hark back (to)
- harken back (to)
- hearken back (to)
- mind [chiefly dialect]
- recall
- remember
- reminisce (about)
- reproduce
- think (of)
Verb (2)
- calm
- collect
- compose
- contain
- control
- settle
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb (1) I've been trying to recollect what happened. I don't recollect telling him anything, but maybe I did. She couldn't recollect who had mentioned his name in the first place. From what I recollect, they said four of them were coming.
Recent Examples on the Web
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2022 First, if the hiring manager struggles to recollect a specific high performer example, that's troublesome. Mark Murphy, Forbes, 24 July 2022 Hays, on the contrary, had feigned not to recollect quizzing dozens of students on their times tables, the prosecutor reminded the judge. oregonlive, 6 June 2022 Thanks for giving me a reason to go back in time and to recollect a nice memory. Demetria Gallegos, WSJ, 14 May 2022 Ask those who recollect the eight years George H.W. Bush served as vice president. Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2021 Simmers told Dateline that through the investigation, witnesses were eventually questioned, but most could only recollect hearing books falling. NBC News, 28 Nov. 2021 Jimin apologized before taking a breath to recollect himself. NBC News, 20 Sep. 2021 As the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics draw to a close today, many will recollect some of this year’s highlights and look ahead to the next games due to be held in Paris in a little under three years from now. Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2021 See More
Verb
The voice in the background of too many memories to recollect. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2022 First, if the hiring manager struggles to recollect a specific high performer example, that's troublesome. Mark Murphy, Forbes, 24 July 2022 Hays, on the contrary, had feigned not to recollect quizzing dozens of students on their times tables, the prosecutor reminded the judge. oregonlive, 6 June 2022 Thanks for giving me a reason to go back in time and to recollect a nice memory. Demetria Gallegos, WSJ, 14 May 2022 Ask those who recollect the eight years George H.W. Bush served as vice president. Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2021 Simmers told Dateline that through the investigation, witnesses were eventually questioned, but most could only recollect hearing books falling. NBC News, 28 Nov. 2021 Jimin apologized before taking a breath to recollect himself. NBC News, 20 Sep. 2021 As the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics draw to a close today, many will recollect some of this year’s highlights and look ahead to the next games due to be held in Paris in a little under three years from now. Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
Medieval Latin recollectus, past participle of recolligere, from Latin, to gather again
Verb (2)
partly from Latin recollectus, past participle of recolligere, from re- + colligere to collect; partly from re- + collect
First Known Use
Verb (1)
1559, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Verb (2)
1604, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
recollect
verb
rec·ol·lect ˌre-kə-ˈlekt
recollected; recollecting
: to call to mind : remember
Can you recollect what happened?
recollect 1 of 2
verb (1)
as in to remember
to bring back to mind I can't recollect if I turned the stove off or not before leaving the house Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- remember
- recall
- mind
- remind
- reproduce
- recapture
- evoke
- recur
- think (of)
- reminisce (about)
- hearken back (to)
- relive
- extract
- flash back (to)
- harken back (to)
- elicit
- educe
- hark back (to)
- represent
- raise
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- forget
- disremember
- ignore
- miss
- unlearn
- lose
- disregard
- overlook
- neglect
- misremember
- blank (out)
re-collect
2 of 2verb (2)
1
as in to contain
to gain emotional or mental control of she had to calm down and re-collect herself after being told she had won the lottery Synonyms & Similar Words
- contain
- compose
- collect
- calm
- control
- restrain
- recover
- settle
- hold back
- still
- rally
- lull
- soothe
- tranquillize
- tranquilize
- quiet
2
as in to retrieve
to get again in one's possession I struggled to re-collect the papers the wind had torn from my hands Synonyms & Similar Words
- retrieve
- recapture
- regain
- recover
- reclaim
- get back
- reacquire
- retake
- replenish
- recoup
- repossess
- recruit
- rescue
- redeem
- repurchase
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- lose
- mislay
- misplace