RECOLLECTION Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'recollection' distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of recollection are memory , remembrance , and reminiscence . While all these words mean "the capacity for or the act of remembering, or the thing remembered," recollection adds an implication of consciously bringing back to mind often with some effort. // after a moment's recollection he produced the name

Q: When is 'memory' a more appropriate choice than 'recollection'?

The meanings of memory and recollection largely overlap; however, 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

Q: Where would 'remembrance' be a reasonable alternative to 'recollection'?

Although the words remembrance and recollection have much in common, remembrance applies to the act of remembering or the fact of being remembered. // any remembrance of his deceased wife was painful

Q: When is it sensible to use 'reminiscence' instead of 'recollection'?

While in some cases nearly identical to recollection , reminiscence suggests the recalling of usually pleasant incidents, experiences, or feelings from a remote past. // my grandmother's reminiscences of her Iowa girlhood

recollection

noun

ˌre-kə-ˈlek-shən

Definition of recollection next

as in memory

a particular act or instance of recalling or the thing remembered I have no recollection of ever saying that

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in mind

the power or process of recalling what has been previously learned or experienced the gradual recollection of that long-ago romance brought back both happy and painful feelings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word recollection distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of recollection are memory, remembrance, and reminiscence. While all these words mean "the capacity for or the act of remembering, or the thing remembered," recollection adds an implication of consciously bringing back to mind often with some effort.

after a moment's recollection he produced the name

When is memory a more appropriate choice than recollection?

The meanings of memory and recollection largely overlap; however, 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

Where would remembrance be a reasonable alternative to recollection?

Although the words remembrance and recollection have much in common, remembrance applies to the act of remembering or the fact of being remembered.

any remembrance of his deceased wife was painful

When is it sensible to use reminiscence instead of recollection?

While in some cases nearly identical to recollection, reminiscence suggests the recalling of usually pleasant incidents, experiences, or feelings from a remote past.

my grandmother's reminiscences of her Iowa girlhood

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of recollection Didn’t the movie have a few working titles, such as Roller Coaster Named Desire, Me and My Goy, and Me and My Jew? Not to my recollection. —

Mike Sacks, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2024 The year’s most impressive filmmaking debut was the playwright Annie Baker’s soft but spiky recollection of life in western Massachusetts in the early ’90s. —

David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2024 Looking back on decades of destruction and rebuilding — of their family, of their home country — neither sister has a rose-colored recollection. —

Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024 Both images suggest latent recollections from childhood, hazily called back up. —

M. Z. Adnan, The New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for recollection