recollection
Bringing something back
Recollection is the act of remembering something, or the memory itself: I have no recollection of that conversation, To the best of my recollection, we never met.
The word suggests deliberate retrieval rather than spontaneous recall—you search your memory and pull something back.
Recollections may be partial or unreliable: His recollection of events differed from hers.
Act of holding something in mind
- recallMemory retrieval act
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- retrievalAct of getting back
- encodingConverting data to format
cognition · brain · hippocampus · long-term · short-term · forgetfulness · amnesia · dementia
Written personal recollection
- anecdoteBrief account of incident
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- reminiscingEnjoyably recalling the past
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
chronicle · account · testimony · oral-history · autobiography · vignette · tale · sharing
Stored historical records
- artifactHuman-made historical object
- relicPreserved ancient object
- heirloomInherited family treasure
- recordPreserved account or achievement
document · photograph · letter · diary · legacy · heritage · ancestry · genealogy
Word made from initials
- acrosticVertically spelled hidden message
- chunkingDividing into manageable parts
- visualizationForming mental or graphical images
- associationGroup with shared aim
flashcards · repetition · rhyme · jingle · keyword · trigger · anchor · cue
Intense prolonged craving
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- sentimentalityExcessive tender emotion
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- longingIntense, persistent desire
homesickness · hiraeth · reverie · bittersweet · halcyon · yesteryear · bygone · sepia-toned
Observing one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- meditationFocused attention practice
- ponderingThinking deeply about something
- ruminationProlonged, repetitive thinking
musing · brooding · self-examination · deliberation · cogitation · thoughtfulness · self-reflection · retrospection
remembrance
Act of holding something in mind
- recallMemory retrieval act
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- retrievalAct of getting back
encoding · cognition · brain · hippocampus · long-term · short-term · forgetfulness · amnesia · dementia · Alzheimer's
memoir
Written personal recollection
- anecdoteBrief account of incident
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- reminiscingEnjoyably recalling the past
yarn · chronicle · account · testimony · oral-history · autobiography · vignette · tale · sharing · retelling
archive
Stored historical records
record · document · photograph · letter · diary · legacy · heritage · ancestry · genealogy · lineage
acronym
Word made from initials
- acrosticVertically spelled hidden message
- chunkingDividing into manageable parts
- visualizationForming mental or graphical images
association · flashcards · repetition · rhyme · jingle · keyword · trigger · anchor · cue · prompt
yearning
Intense prolonged craving
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- sentimentalityExcessive tender emotion
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
longing · homesickness · hiraeth · reverie · bittersweet · halcyon · yesteryear · bygone · sepia-toned · rose-colored
introspection
Observing one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- meditationFocused attention practice
- ponderingThinking deeply about something
rumination · musing · brooding · self-examination · deliberation · cogitation · thoughtfulness · self-reflection · retrospection · soul-searching
- autobiographymemoir, life story, diary, journal, personal narrative
- memory & emotionemotional recall, memory retrieval, recall, feelings, emotions
- memoryremember, forget, recall, memorize, retain
- pastago, before, once, previously, prior
- contemplationcontemplation, meditation, reflection, pondering, musing
- life storyautobiography, memoir, early years, childhood, memories
recollectionanticipation
State of awaiting something
expectation · foresight · prospection · premonition · forecast
recollectionoblivion
Complete erasure from memory
forgetfulness · amnesia · forgetting · obliviousness · memory loss
recollectionrepression
Unconscious blocking of thoughts
suppression · denial · blocking · dissociation · erasure
- fuzzy recollection
- personal recollectionsIndividual's stored experiences
- false recollectionUntrue remembered event