Reminisce and its relative reminiscence come from the mind—that is to say, they come from the Latin word for "mind," which is mens. A root related to mens teamed up with the prefix re- to create the Latin verb reminisci ("to remember"), an ancestor of both words. Reminisce is one of several English verbs starting with re- that mean "to bring an image or idea from the past into the mind." Others in this group include remember, recall, remind, and recollect. Reminisce distinguishes itself from the others by implying a casual recalling of experiences long past, often with a sense of nostalgia.
remember implies a keeping in memory that may be effortless or unwilled.
remembers that day as though it were yesterday
recollect implies a bringing back to mind what is lost or scattered.
as near as I can recollect
recall suggests an effort to bring back to mind and often to re-create in speech.
can't recall the words of the song
remind suggests a jogging of one's memory by an association or similarity.
that reminds me of a story
reminisce implies a casual often nostalgic recalling of experiences long past and gone.
old college friends like to reminisce
Examples of reminisce in a Sentence
Ray pauses to point out the Whisky a Go Go, on Sunset Boulevard, and reminisces about the night Elvis Presley went there to see the Kinks play.—David Wild, Rolling Stone, 13 May 1993When relatives reminisce about my great-grandfather, they almost always precede it with some reference to his affection for me.—Donna Tartt, Harper's, July 1992We had apple fritters, roast chicken, an enormous lunch, with Mrs. Truman talkative, easy, and the President reminiscing and telling jokes.—Lady Bird Johnson2 Sept. 1965,,
A White House Diary, 1970
He reminisced with old buddies at his high school reunion.
She reminisced about her time in Europe.
Recent Examples on the WebTrump also reminisced about golfing with Palmer and said the rally would be more fun if the golfer (who died in 2016) could join him, taking it further than what politicians typically say about the famous golfer when visiting his hometown, the Associated Press reported.—Molly Bohannon, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024 In his new memoir Sonny Boy, Pacino reminisces on the making of the 1990 comic strip adaptation with utter fondness.—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024 If Superstars was a reunion of old friends, Jamboree is what happens when everyone actually makes good on that next meet-up, reminiscing for a bit on how things were before changing the conversation to something new, with some awkward moments in between.—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2024 In an interview with The New Yorker earlier this year, the comedian reminisced about how comedy once was – and spoke out against the current cultural climate.—Rosa Rahimi, CNN, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for reminisce
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reminisce.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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