experience

²ex·pe·ri·ence

verb \ik-ˈspir-ē-ən(t)s\

ex·pe·ri·encedex·pe·ri·enc·ing

Definition of EXPERIENCE

transitive verb

1

: to learn by experience (see ¹experience) <I have experienced that a landscape and the sky unfold the deepest beauty — Nathaniel Hawthorne>

2

: to have experience of : undergo <experienced severe hardships as a child>

Examples of EXPERIENCE

1. That was one of the worst days I've ever experienced.
2. The patient has been experiencing pain in her left shoulder.
3. Performing a risk-reward analysis can often clarify decisions. If the risk of a failed marriage is that you may have to experience heartache and an expensive divorce, you'd better think carefully. If the risk of a bad ski run is that you'll die, you'd better think even more carefully about what you'll gain by taking that risk. —Laurence Gonzales, National Geographic Adventure, March 2008
4. Of course, many reporters do their best to be accurate, but they must conform to the conventions of their craft, and there is always slippage between their choice of words and the nature of an event as experienced or perceived by others. —Robert Darnton, New York Review of Books, 12 June 2008
5. I spent 20-some years as a foreign correspondent and experienced my share of harrowing travel. … And unlike the brave foreign correspondents that you see on TV or read about … , I was scared silly. —P. J. O'Rourke, Forbes Life, June 2008

Origin of EXPERIENCE

(see ¹experience)

First Known Use: 1580

Related to EXPERIENCE

Synonyms: endure, feel, have, know, pass, see, suffer, sustain, taste, undergo, witness, go through

Related Words: encounter, meet; accept, receive; assimilate, digest

[+]more[-]hide

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal