explicit memory

Meaning

1. 1noununcountabletechnical

   The kind of long-term memory you can deliberately bring to mind and put into words, such as facts and personal events.

   Grammar: Usually uncountable in this technical sense: explicit memory fades with age.

   Patterns

   • explicit memory of something
   • test explicit memory

   Recalling your last birthday party uses explicit memory.

   Facts you learn for an exam are stored in explicit memory.

   Doctors tested her explicit memory by asking her to list the words she had just heard.

Common combinations

test explicit memory

The quiz was designed to test explicit memory of names and dates.

rely on explicit memory

Studying for a history test relies on explicit memory.

explicit memory loss

Damage to the hippocampus can cause explicit memory loss.

explicit and implicit memory

Psychologists distinguish explicit and implicit memory.

explicit memory task

Participants completed an explicit memory task using word lists.

Synonyms and how they differ

declarative memory

Declarative memory is the other standard name for the same system, and it highlights that the content can be declared in words.

conscious memory

Conscious memory is a looser phrase and is less often used in scientific writing.

recall

Recall describes the act of retrieving a memory, while explicit memory names the type of memory system.

Opposites

Word family

explicit adjective

stated clearly and directly

explicitly adverb

in a clear and direct way

memory noun

the ability to store and recall information

memorize verb

to learn something so you can recall it

Commonly confused: explicit memory or implicit memory?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “explicit memory”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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