recall
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To call back to one's mind.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
reekawlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹikɔl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitiveintransitive
To call back (a situation, event, etc.) to one's mind; to remember; to recollect.
transitive
To call back, bring back, or summon (someone) to a specific place, station, etc.
transitive
To request or order the return of (a faulty product).
Go back to something earlier
Summon to return
“The ambassador was recalled to his country.”
transitive
To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order).
noun
Memory; the ability to remember.
The act of removing an official by petition
The action or fact of calling someone or something back.
A request by the manufacturer of a defective product to return the product (as for replacement or repair)
Request of the return of a faulty product.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To call back (a situation, event, etc.) to one's mind; to remember; to recollect.
Used this way, recall is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use recall
- “The company recalled the product when it was found to be faulty.”verb
- “The ambassador was recalled to his country.”verb
- “He has total recall of the episode.”noun
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
To remember; to recall to mind.
To ponder, to go over in one's mind.
To remember or recall something.
To pass (data) back to the calling procedure.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An additional dose that makes sure the first dose was effective.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: memory
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.