recollect
recollect Lexical Profile
recollect Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To remember or call to mind a past event, person, or fact, often through deliberate mental effort.
"She tried to recollect the exact title of the book her professor had recommended during the lecture."
To regain one's composure, focus, or self-control after a moment of distraction or distress (used reflexively).
"After stumbling over his opening lines, the speaker paused for a moment to recollect himself before continuing."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'recollect' (pronounced with a short 'e', meaning to remember) with the hyphenated 're-collect' (pronounced with a long 'e', meaning to collect or gather something a second time).
• Rhymes for recollect
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 16th century from Latin recollectus, the past participle of recolligere ('to gather up again'), formed from re- ('back, again') and colligere ('to collect').