REMINISCE Synonyms: 69 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'reminisce' distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of reminisce are recall , recollect , remember , and remind . While all these words mean "to bring an image or idea from the past into the mind," reminisce implies a casual often nostalgic recalling of experiences long past and gone. // old college friends like to reminisce

Q: In what contexts can 'recall' take the place of 'reminisce'?

The words recall and reminisce are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, recall suggests an effort to bring back to mind and often to re-create in speech. // can't recall the words of the song

Q: Where would 'recollect' be a reasonable alternative to 'reminisce'?

The synonyms recollect and reminisce are sometimes interchangeable, but recollect implies a bringing back to mind what is lost or scattered. // as near as I can recollect

Q: When can 'remember' be used instead of 'reminisce'?

While in some cases nearly identical to reminisce , remember implies a keeping in memory that may be effortless or unwilled. // remembers that day as though it were yesterday

Q: When is 'remind' a more appropriate choice than 'reminisce'?

In some situations, the words remind and reminisce are roughly equivalent. However, remind suggests a jogging of one's memory by an association or similarity. // that reminds me of a story

reminisce

verb

Definition of reminisce

as in to remember

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Relevance

Dissimilar Words

as in to ponder

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How is the word reminisce distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of reminisce are recall, recollect, remember, and remind. While all these words mean "to bring an image or idea from the past into the mind," reminisce implies a casual often nostalgic recalling of experiences long past and gone.

old college friends like to reminisce

In what contexts can recall take the place of reminisce?

The words recall and reminisce are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, recall suggests an effort to bring back to mind and often to re-create in speech.

can't recall the words of the song

Where would recollect be a reasonable alternative to reminisce?

The synonyms recollect and reminisce are sometimes interchangeable, but recollect implies a bringing back to mind what is lost or scattered.

as near as I can recollect

When can remember be used instead of reminisce?

While in some cases nearly identical to reminisce, remember implies a keeping in memory that may be effortless or unwilled.

remembers that day as though it were yesterday

When is remind a more appropriate choice than reminisce?

In some situations, the words remind and reminisce are roughly equivalent. However, remind suggests a jogging of one's memory by an association or similarity.

that reminds me of a story

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of reminisce Donna kept additional details about the wedding private, choosing instead to reminisce about taking her sons, Travis, 36, and Jason Kelce, to watch the Fourth of July fireworks as children. — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026 There may soon come a day when consultants reminisce about creating PowerPoint presentations by hand. — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 18 June 2026 Thirty years later, the actress got to reconnect with Ventimiglia on her daytime talk show, Sherri, and reminisce about Rewind. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026 While fangs and stakes aren’t my forte, a gathering of friends and strangers acting goofy and reminiscing over childhood and teen memories sounded cool. — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for reminisce

Recent Examples of Synonyms for reminisce

Verb

The service Warm and efficient, offering to show you around the historic corners of the hotel, remembering coffee orders at breakfast, and recommending dishes on the menu as if cooking supper in their own home.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026
Reading Ascherson’s finest essays today, so many of them on the big European personalities—de Gaulle, Brandt, Thatcher—is still invigorating, even for those of us too young to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall.

— Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of remember

Verb

Those songs and more were performed during his set by an ace band that included two drummers, whose polyrhythmic beat recalled the Burundi-like drumming of Ant’s 1980 masterpiece Kings of the Wild Frontier.

— David Chiu, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Cole recalled how, at the close of those early shows, the drawings were removed from their frames and returned to Auckland, to be put back in their cupboards.

— Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of recall

Verb

The most tonally bizarre Apes movie ruminates on that question with a mixture of money-saving light comedy and mic-drop grimness.

— Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026
This has led to fans of the show to ruminate on how the team will set up another elaborate prank.

— Peter White, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of ruminate

Verb

Father and son then recollect a life lived in secret as the filmmaker reflects on his own queerness.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 24 July 2026
Homer’s poem never depicts the horse and the sacking of Troy in direct action; the city’s fall is recollected only in the form of stories that glorify Greece’s soldiers.

— Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 16 July 2026

Definition of recollect

Verb

Even in the midst of this global struggle, Roosevelt contemplated the future and envisioned the critical role that a new United Nations might play.

— John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
But Williams — who is set to compete with her sister Serena Williams in the Open’s doubles tournament this week — wasn’t ready to contemplate what’s next for her career after that.

— Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of contemplate

Verb

As of July 11, 70% of the nearly 66,000 people in ICE custody had no criminal conviction, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which analyzes federal immigration data.

— María Luisa Paúl, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
The average wage is determined by analyzing 20 fire departments to be chosen by the Department of Human Resources and the firefighter union, Cal Fire Local 1881.

— Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of analyze

Verb

Mice on semaglutide explored more, balanced longer on a rotating rod, ran farther on a treadmill and solved a maze faster—gains that held even after the researchers accounted for the animals just being leaner than their peers.

— Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2026
Art requires some neutrality to find its voice, but a building dedicated to the exploration of narrative shouldn’t stop exploring just when its storytelling begins.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of explore

Browse Nearby Words

reminds

reminisce

reminisce (about)

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“Reminisce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reminisce. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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