Do you remember, say, the 21st night of September? Fantastic. Earth, Wind, and Fire does, too, on their classic hit from 1978, “September.” More than remember, the band reminisces—that is, they share details and express feelings about what they remember: dancing, a bell ringing, souls singing, et al. Reminisce distinguishes itself from words like remember and recollect by implying a casual recalling of experiences long past, often with a sense of nostalgia. Reminisce and its relatives reminiscence and reminiscent all trace back to the Latin verb reminisci, meaning “remember.” Reminisci in turn shares roots with mens, the Latin word for “mind.”
remember implies a keeping in memory that may be effortless or unwilled.
remembers that day as though it were yesterday
recollect implies a bringing back to mind what is lost or scattered.
as near as I can 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
remind suggests a jogging of one's memory by an association or similarity.
that reminds me of a story
reminisce implies a casual often nostalgic recalling of experiences long past and gone.
old college friends like to reminisce
Examples of reminisce in a Sentence
Ray pauses to point out the Whisky a Go Go, on Sunset Boulevard, and reminisces about the night Elvis Presley went there to see the Kinks play.—David Wild, Rolling Stone, 13 May 1993When relatives reminisce about my great-grandfather, they almost always precede it with some reference to his affection for me.—Donna Tartt, Harper's, July 1992We had apple fritters, roast chicken, an enormous lunch, with Mrs. Truman talkative, easy, and the President reminiscing and telling jokes.—Lady Bird Johnson2 Sept. 1965,,
A White House Diary, 1970
He reminisced with old buddies at his high school reunion.
She reminisced about her time in Europe.
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Harp, who is raising his orphaned niece, Dell, after her mother is murdered, never reminisces with Dell about his sister; the Antidote and Cleo both do their best not to have meaningful conversations with anyone at all.—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 27 June 2025 Tina also reminisced about Solange's teenage years and her constant creativity.—Marina Watts, People.com, 25 June 2025 Memories from 2024-25 After winning 44 regular-season games, the most since 2018-19 and the third most in franchise history, and advancing to the Calder Cup Finals, the Checkers faithful have plenty to reminisce on after Monday night’s season-ending loss.—Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 24 June 2025 Eric Knight, 29, reminisced about his childhood years spent inside Cassell’s.—Jasmine Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for reminisce
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