INDEX:
1. to make someone remember something that they must do
2. to make someone remember something they have forgotten
3. when something makes you remember something from the past
4. to make you remember unpleasant experiences from the past
RELATED WORDS
to make you think of another similar person or thing : ↑ LIKE OR SIMILAR (3)
see also
↑ REMEMBER
↑ FORGET
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1. to make someone remember something that they must do
▷ remind /rɪˈmaɪnd/ [transitive verb]
to make someone remember something they must do or something they need to know :
▪ I’d love to have lunch next Wednesday, but you’ll have to remind me.
remind somebody about something
▪ Pauline phoned to remind you about the party.
remind somebody to do something
▪ Remind me to buy some batteries for my Walkman, OK?
remind somebody (that)
▪ I just want to remind you that your assignments must be completed by Friday.
remind somebody how/what/when
▪ Write down a few notes to remind yourself what you want to say.
that reminds me
say this when someone says or does something that makes you remember to do something spoken
▪ Oh that reminds me - I’m supposed to take Cheryl to the airport tomorrow.
▷ reminder /rɪˈmaɪndəʳ/ [countable noun]
a written note or something that someone says that reminds you about something you have forgotten or ignored, especially something that you must do :
▪ The dentist’s office sent you a reminder about your appointment next week.
▪ Finally, a reminder that the school concert will be on December 17.
▷ don’t forget /ˌdəʊnt fəʳˈget/ spoken
say this to tell someone to remember something that you think they might forget :
▪ Don’t forget your keys.
don’t forget to do something
▪ Don’t forget to mail that letter, will you?
don’t forget (that)
▪ Don’t forget that my mother’s coming to visit this weekend.
2. to make someone remember something they have forgotten
▷ jog somebody’s memory /ˌdʒɒg somebodyˈs ˈmem ə riǁˌdʒɑːg-/ [verb phrase]
if a particular detail about someone or something jogs someone’s memory, it makes them remember someone or something that they have forgotten :
▪ Police hope the sketch will jog someone’s memory and help identify the gunman.
jog sb’s memory about
▪ Something about what he said jogged my memory about an article I had read the month before.
▷ refresh somebody’s memory /rɪˌfreʃ somebodyˈs ˈmem ə ri/ [verb phrase]
to look at photographs, written information etc in order to help you remember facts or details that you already know but may have forgotten :
▪ Before the exam he read through his notes once more to refresh his memory.
▪ If you can’t remember where you were on June 15, Mr Ball, maybe these photos will refresh your memory.
▷ prompt /prɒmptǁprɑːmpt/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to remind someone, especially an actor in a play, what words to say when they have forgotten what they should say :
▪ His job is to prompt the actors when they forget their lines.
▪ Most of the children knew their lines so the director didn’t need to prompt very much.
prompt [countable noun]
▪ He managed to say the whole speech without a single prompt.
3. when something makes you remember something from the past
▷ remind somebody of /rɪˈmaɪnd somebody ɒv/ [verb phrase]
to make someone remember a person, thing, or time from the past :
▪ The perfume always reminded him of his mother.
▪ Walking across the field reminded me of the happy summers I’d spent on my grandparents’ farm.
that reminds me of somebody/something
say this when someone says or does something that makes you remember someone or something spoken
▪ That reminds me of a joke I heard last week.
▷ make somebody think of /ˌmeɪk somebody ˈθɪŋk ɒv/ [verb phrase]
to remind someone of a person, experience, or time in your life :
▪ I hate that smell - it makes me think of when I was in the hospital.
▪ All this stuff just makes me think of Dan - I should get rid of it.
▪ Baked beans always made her think of that first camping trip.
▷ bring/call to mind /ˌbrɪŋ, ˌkɔːl tə ˈmaɪnd/ [verb phrase]
if events or experiences bring to mind something or call to mind something, they remind you of past events or experiences because they are very similar to them :
▪ The case calls to mind the 1997 killing of a ten-year-old girl in upstate New York.
▪ His account vividly brings to mind the descriptions of battles in Homer.
▷ be a reminder /biː ə rɪˈmaɪndəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to remind you of someone or something from the past, especially in a way that makes you sad :
▪ The town wanted to forget the war but the destroyed bridge was a painful reminder.
be a reminder of
▪ She kept all his letters as a reminder of their time together.
be a constant reminder
▪ The scar across his forehead was a constant reminder of the accident.
▷ bring back memories/take somebody back /ˌbrɪŋ bæk ˈmem ə riz, ˌteɪk somebody ˈbæk/ [verb phrase]
if something brings back memories or takes you back, it reminds you of a particular and often pleasant event or experience from your past that you thought you had forgotten :
▪ These old pictures really bring back some memories.
▪ It’s years since I heard any Beatles’ music - it really takes me back.
bring back memories of something
▪ The order and discipline of the job brought back memories of his army days.
take somebody back to something
▪ Staying in my old bedroom again takes me back to my childhood.
▷ evoke /ɪˈvəʊk/ [transitive verb] formal
to remind someone of how they felt at a particular time in the past by producing a particular feeling, emotion, or memory in them :
▪ The movie evokes a simpler time when life was less complicated.
▪ David hardly needed any encouragement to visit the sea, since it still evoked for him the happiest memories.
▷ evocative /ɪˈvɒkətɪvǁɪˈvɑː-/ [adjective]
if something such as a poem, a painting, or an image is evocative, it makes people remember a particular part of their past by producing a particular feeling, emotion, or memory in them :
▪ The air was full of evocative smells of flowers and freshly cut grass.
evocative of
▪ The painting was evocative of all the sun and bright colours of Provence.
▷ come flooding back /kʌm ˌflʌdɪŋ ˈbæk/ [verb phrase]
if memories come flooding back, you suddenly remember them in a detailed way because of something that has happened :
▪ As I began my speech all my teenage insecurities came flooding back.
▪ He hadn’t expected to see her, but he was surprised at how quickly memories of Paris came flooding back.
4. to make you remember unpleasant experiences from the past
▷ drag up/rake up /ˌdræg ˈʌp, ˌreɪk ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
if someone drags up or rakes up things from the past that you would prefer to forget, they start talking about them and make you remember them :
drag/rake something up
▪ I said I was sorry, so I don’t want you to keep raking it up again.
drag/rake up something
▪ I don’t know why you insist on dragging the past up every time we get together.
▷ open/reopen old wounds /ˌəʊpən, riˌəʊpən əʊld ˈwuːnds/ [verb phrase]
if an event or course of action opens old wounds, it reminds someone of an unpleasant experience from the past :
▪ I’d prefer not to see my ex-wife - it will just open old wounds.
▪ The spy trial has reopened old wounds in the immigrant community.