reminiscence.

1. Remembering or recounting past experiences, especially through reflective discussion.

2. An account or memory of a past experience.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• personal reminiscence
• shared reminiscence

On the page

Shared reminiscence brought the participants’ different memories into the conversation.

Personal reminiscence supplied a perspective the official chronology lacked.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Singular reminiscence; plural reminiscences. Also uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: narrative transformation, conception and possibility, memory representation, anticipatory detail. Disciplines: literary writing, advanced general English, narrative analysis. Commonness: moderately common.