memories
What nostalgia retrieves
Memories are mental records of past experiences, the things we remember.
A memory can be vivid or hazy, cherished or painful: childhood memories, fond memories of summer camp.
The plural often suggests a collection of recollections from a particular time or place: sharing memories at a funeral, the trip gave us wonderful memories.
To do something from memory is to rely on what you remember rather than notes or references.
Intense, persistent desire
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- sentimentalityExcessive tender emotion
- homesicknessLonging for one's dwelling
- bittersweetWistful yet warm
yearning · melancholy · pining · sepia-toned · halcyon · bygone · yesteryear · vintage
Recalling past experiences
- recallMemory retrieval act
- recollectRetrieve past experiences
- anecdotesBrief amusing accounts
- memoirWritten personal recollection
retrospection · reflecting · storytelling · oral-history · autobiography · narrative · sharing · vivid
Involuntary past memory
- PTSDChronic reaction to horrific events
- triggerWhat initiates action
- intrusiveInvading others' privacy
- repressedHeld back from expression
suppressed · buried · haunting · recurring · vivid · unbidden · resurface · painful
Light-captured images
- scrapbookBook for preserving mementos
- mementosObjects kept for remembrance
- souvenirsObjects preserving travel memories
- heirloomsObjects passed through family lines
albums · letters · journals · diaries · tokens · trinkets · memorabilia · snapshots
Family line of descent
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- genealogyStudy of family descent
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
legacy · folklore · customs · elders · ancestral · generational · cultural · inherited
Converting data to format
- retrievalAct of getting back
- storageSpace for keeping goods
- short-termOf limited duration
- long-termLasting extended period
episodic · semantic · procedural · declarative · hippocampus · consolidation · working · sensory
longing
Intense, persistent desire
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- sentimentalityExcessive tender emotion
- homesicknessLonging for one's dwelling
bittersweet · yearning · melancholy · pining · sepia-toned · halcyon · bygone · yesteryear · vintage · retro
reminiscence
Recalling past experiences
memoir · retrospection · reflecting · storytelling · oral-history · autobiography · narrative · sharing · vivid · faded
flashback
Involuntary past memory
- PTSDChronic reaction to horrific events
- triggerWhat initiates action
- intrusiveInvading others' privacy
repressed · suppressed · buried · haunting · recurring · vivid · unbidden · resurface · painful · distressing
photographs
Light-captured images
- scrapbookBook for preserving mementos
- mementosObjects kept for remembrance
- souvenirsObjects preserving travel memories
heirlooms · albums · letters · journals · diaries · tokens · trinkets · memorabilia · snapshots · postcards
ancestry
Family line of descent
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- genealogyStudy of family descent
roots · legacy · folklore · customs · elders · ancestral · generational · cultural · inherited · collective
encoding
Converting data to format
- retrievalAct of getting back
- storageSpace for keeping goods
- short-termOf limited duration
long-term · episodic · semantic · procedural · declarative · hippocampus · consolidation · working · sensory · retention
- topicsnature, health, sports, science, politics
- pastago, before, once, previously, prior
- identityidentity, personal identity, self, selfhood, self-expression
- mindmind, thought, cognition, consciousness, thinking
- backstoryorigin story, origin, past, background, history
- diary entriesdate, dear diary, thoughts, feelings, mood
memoriesanticipations
Forecasts of future events
expectations · the present · hopes · forecasts · premonitions
memoriesamnesia
Pathological loss of recall
oblivion · forgetting · forgetfulness · blackout · memory loss
memoriesfantasies
Imagined scenarios, often pleasurable
imaginings · dreams · fictions · inventions · fabrications
- childhood memoriesRecollections from youth
- fond memories
- Memorial DayHoliday honoring military dead
- memorial serviceEvent honoring the deceased
- war memorialTribute to fallen soldiers
- painful memories
memorial, memorize, memorized, memorizing, memorials, memorialize, memorialized, memorialization, memorializing