reminiscence
/ˌɹɛm.əˈnɪs.əns/
"reminiscence" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“reminiscence” is an uncommon English word, ranked #50,189 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #50,189
- frequency rank, English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An act of remembering long-past experiences, especially positive or pleasant ones, often fondly.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | reminiscence |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌɹɛm.əˈnɪs.əns/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #50,189 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “reminiscence” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for reminiscence is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɹɛm.əˈnɪs.əns/. Corpus data places it at rank #50,189 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for reminiscence in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin reminīscentiae (“remembrances”), from Latin reminīscēns, present active participle of reminīscor (“remember”); see reminiscent. The correct English form is reminiscence, spelled R-E-M-I-N-I-S-C-E-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1An act of remembering long-past experiences, especially positive or pleasant ones, often fondly.
- 2A mental image thus remembered.
Etymology
From Late Latin reminīscentiae (“remembrances”), from Latin reminīscēns, present active participle of reminīscor (“remember”); see reminiscent.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “reminiscence”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-M-I-N-I-S-C-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɹɛm.əˈnɪs.əns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.