Meaning & use
collective memory
Last updated
UK/kəˌlektɪv ˈmeməri/
US/kəˌlektɪv ˈmeməri/
Meaning
noununcountable
The set of memories, stories and beliefs about the past that a community or nation shares.
Grammar: Rarely takes a: the collective memory of a nation.
Patterns
- the collective memory of something
The war remains part of the nation's collective memory.
Monuments help keep a collective memory alive.
The town's collective memory of the flood has faded over time.
Common combinations
- shape collective memory
- Films can shape collective memory.
- part of collective memory
- The event is part of our collective memory.
- preserve collective memory
- Museums preserve collective memory.
- collective memory of a war
- The collective memory of the war differs by country.
- fade from collective memory
- Some stories fade from collective memory.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shared memory
- Shared memory is plainer and can describe two friends, not a whole society.
- historical memory
- Historical memory stresses the link to events of the past.
- public memory
- Public memory emphasizes how events are remembered in public spaces and media.
Word family
- collective adjective
- Done by or shared by a group.
- memory noun
- The ability to remember.
- collectively adverb
- As a group.
Commonly confused: collective memory or collective unconscious?
collective memory vs collective unconscious
The collective unconscious is a Jungian idea about inherited mental patterns, not shared memories.
Practice
Stories and rituals that a whole community remembers together form its ___.
Choose one answer.
Collective memory is shared remembering by a group. Muscle memory is bodily skill.
Make it your own
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