recall
[verb]
Synonyms:
- recollect, bring or call to mind, evoke, remember
- annul, cancel, countermand, repeal, retract, revoke, withdraw
[noun]
Synonyms:
- recollection, memory, remembrance
- annulment, cancellation, repeal, rescindment, retraction, withdrawal

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Related Words: educe, elicit, evoke, extract, arouse, awaken, rouse, stir, waken

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English Thesaurus: remember, recall, recollect, memorize, think back/look back, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. re‧call¹ S3 W2 /rɪˈkɔːl $ ˈriːkɒːl/ verb

1. REMEMBER SOMETHING [intransitive, transitive not in progressive] to remember a particular fact, event, or situation from the past:
You don’t happen to recall his name, do you?
recall (that)
I seem to recall I’ve met him before somewhere.
recall doing something
I don’t recall seeing any cars parked outside.
recall what/how/where etc
I can’t recall who gave me the information.
As I recall, it was you who suggested this idea in the first place.

2. PERSON [transitive] to officially tell someone to come back to a place or group
recall somebody to something
Cole was recalled to the squad to replace the injured Quinn.
recall somebody from something
The Ambassador was recalled from Washington.

3. PRODUCT [transitive] if a company recalls one of its products, it asks people who have bought it to return it because there may be something wrong with it:
The cars had to be recalled due to an engine fault.

4. COMPUTER [transitive] to bring information back onto the screen of a computer

5. BE SIMILAR TO SOMETHING [transitive] if something recalls something else, it makes you think of it because it is very similar:
The furnishings recall the 1960s.

6. POLITICS [transitive] American English to vote to remove someone from their political position

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. re‧call² /rɪˈkɔːl, ˈriːkɔːl $ -ɒːl/ noun

1. MEMORY [uncountable] the ability to remember something that you have learned or experienced:
A child’s recall is usually accurate.
He had total recall (=remembered everything) of every play in the game.

2. ORDER TO RETURN [singular, uncountable] an official order telling someone to return to a place, especially before they expected to
recall of
the recall of their ambassador

3. beyond recall impossible to bring back or remember

4. PRODUCT [countable] when a company asks people to return a product they have bought because there may be something wrong with it

5. POLITICS [singular, uncountable] American English a vote to remove someone from their political position, or the act of being removed by a vote
recall of
the recall of four city council members

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

recall
verb
ADV. clearly, distinctly, vividly, well I well recall walking the five miles to school every morning.
dimly, vaguely | correctly If I recall correctly, he lives in Luton.
easily She could easily recall the smell of the orange groves.
suddenly | fondly | still Becky could still recall that first meeting clearly.
VERB + RECALL seem to I seem to recall that she said she was going away.
be able to, can/could (barely), can't/couldn't (quite) | try to

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

recall
verb
BAD: May I recall you what happened that day?
GOOD: May I remind you of what happened that day?

Usage Note:
recall (fairly formal) = remember: 'I really can't recall what his wife looks like.'
remind = cause (someone) to remember: 'The painting reminded me of my last holiday in Bali.' 'Remind me to buy a new toothbrush while we're out.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

remember to form an idea in your mind of people, events, places etc from the past:
I remember Janine – she lived in that house on the corner.
I can’t remember how the film ends.
He remembered meeting her at a party once.
recall to remember a particular fact, event, or situation, especially in order to tell someone about it:
Can you recall where your husband was that night?
She recalled that he had seemed a strange, lonely man.
recollect formal to remember an event or situation:
Harry smiled as he recollected the scene.
She tried to recollect what had happened next in her dream.
memorize to learn facts, a piece of writing or music etc, so that you can remember them later:
He’s trying to memorize his speech.
Don’t write down your PIN number, memorize it.
think back/look back to think about something that happened in the past:
I thought back to when I was his age.
Looking back, I should have been more patient with her.
We need to stop looking back and start thinking about the future.
reminisce /ˌreməˈnɪs, ˌremɪˈnɪs/ to talk about pleasant events, people, experiences etc from the past, because you want to remember them or enjoy talking about them:
They were reminiscing about old times.
I used to spend hours listening to my grandfather reminisce.
bear something in mind to remember something important when you are doing something, because it could affect what you do:
Bear in mind that this is the first time he’s done this.
something is on the tip of your tongue used to say that you know a word or a name but that you have difficulty remembering it at this exact moment:
His name’s on the tip of my tongue. I’ll think of it in a minute.
remind somebody of something to make you think of another person, thing, or time, because they are similar:
It reminds me of the time when I first started teaching.
The taste reminded him of school dinners.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲