What does disremember mean?
Disremember is a rare, literary verb meaning to forget or fail to recall something. It is transitive and is usually used in a somewhat old-fashioned register, as in “he disremembered her name,” where the emphasis is not on deliberate forgetting but on the failure of memory. The word can also have the older sense of remembering something incorrectly, though that sense is much less common today. Its unusual force comes from the prefix dis-, which reverses the direction implied by remember: rather than summon something to consciousness, one loses access to it. This makes disremember especially effective in dialogue, historical narration, and poetic writing, where it gives ordinary forgetfulness an archaic or mournful tone. It should not be confused with misremember, which specifically means to recall something wrongly. In everyday modern English, forget is the normal and clearer choice.
verbTo forget or fail to remember something; in an older, less common use, to remember something incorrectly.
- Transitive: to forget or fail to remember something.
- Archaic: to remember something incorrectly or in a confused way.
"He disremembered her name, though not the sound of her laughter."
"He disremembered her name, though not the sound of her laughter."
"In her memoir, the narrator admits she had begun to disremember the faces of people she had known as a child."
In its main sense, disremember does the opposite of remember: one does not summon something to mind, but loses it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does disremember come from?
Disremember was formed in early modern English, probably in the 16th century, by combining dis- with remember. Remember came into English through Old French remembrer, ultimately from Latin rememorari, built on re- and the root memor, meaning “remember” or “remember clearly.” The English form is an analytical formation rather than a direct Latin compound, while remembrance, remembrancer, and memorial preserve related roots and meanings.
Related word forms
How disremember is actually used
This is a rare, literary, and somewhat old-fashioned verb rather than part of ordinary modern usage. It is normally transitive and can sound poetic, archaic, or mournful, especially when used for the involuntary loss of a name, place, experience, or relationship.
Easily confused with disremember
Remember means to bring something to mind, whereas disremember ordinarily means to forget or fail to recall it.
Misremember specifically means to recall something incorrectly, while disremember more commonly means to fail to remember at all.
Dismember means to cut a body or object into pieces and has no connection with memory.