Synonyms of recollect

recollect 1 of 2

verb (1)

ˌre-kə-ˈlekt 

as in to remember

to bring back to mind

I can't recollect if I turned the stove off or not before leaving the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

• remember
• recall
• mind
• think (of)
• reproduce
• remind
• reminisce (about)
• recapture
• hark back (to)
• hearken back (to)
• flash back (to)
• harken back (to)
• evoke
• recur
• extract
• elicit
• relive
• represent
• educe
• raise

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• forget
• ignore
• disremember
• lose
• unlearn
• disregard
• miss
• neglect
• overlook
• misremember
• blank (out)

re-collect

2 of 2

verb (2)

ˌrē-kə-ˈlekt 

1

as in to contain

to gain emotional or mental control of

she had to calm down and re-collect herself after being told she had won the lottery

Synonyms & Similar Words

• contain
• compose
• collect
• calm
• control
• restrain
• settle
• recover
• hold back
• rally
• soothe
• still
• lull
• quiet
• tranquilize

2

as in to retrieve

to get again in one's possession

I struggled to re-collect the papers the wind had torn from my hands

Synonyms & Similar Words

• retrieve
• recapture
• regain
• recover
• reclaim
• get back
• retake
• reacquire
• recoup
• repossess
• replenish
• recruit
• redeem
• rescue
• repurchase

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lose
• misplace
• mislay

Synonym Chooser

How is the word recollect distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of recollect are recall, remember, remind, and reminisce. While all these words mean "to bring an image or idea from the past into the mind," recollect implies a bringing back to mind what is lost or scattered.

as near as I can recollect

When can recall be used instead of recollect?

While in some cases nearly identical to recollect, recall suggests an effort to bring back to mind and often to re-create in speech.

can't recall the words of the song

When is remember a more appropriate choice than recollect?

While the synonyms remember and recollect are close in meaning, remember implies a keeping in memory that may be effortless or unwilled.

remembers that day as though it were yesterday

Where would remind be a reasonable alternative to recollect?

The words remind and recollect can be used in similar contexts, but remind suggests a jogging of one's memory by an association or similarity.

that reminds me of a story

In what contexts can reminisce take the place of recollect?

In some situations, the words reminisce and recollect are roughly equivalent. However, reminisce implies a casual often nostalgic recalling of experiences long past and gone.

old college friends like to reminisce

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of recollect

Verb

Johnson paints Grainier’s life as a series of faces with clear entrances and exits, episodes of friendship or acquaintancy that can only be recollected as something finite and finished. —Rory Doherty, Time, 21 Nov. 2025

Vetting will include more background and criminal checks, an immigration status review and potentially recollecting biometrics data, like fingerprints and photos. —Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025

Verb

With photonic cooling, the light emitted via anti-Stokes fluorescence can be recovered by re-collecting the light into fiber-optic cables and then converting it to electricity through thermophotovoltaics, leading to upwards of 60 percent energy recovery. —IEEE Spectrum, 16 Oct. 2025