Remember vs. Recall — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on September 27, 2023
Remember refers to having in or being able to bring one's mind an awareness of someone or something from the past. Recall is the explicit act of retrieving and declaring a specific piece of information from memory.
Difference Between Remember and Recall
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
The terms Remember and Recall both pertain to the cognitive processes involving memory, but they signify distinct actions within this domain. To remember is to have a conscious awareness or a mental image of a past event or piece of information. It is often spontaneous and involves recognizing information or events without deliberately trying to bring them to mind. Recall, conversely, is a more deliberate action, where an individual actively tries to retrieve specific information from their memory, such as during a test.
Remember usually involves a degree of automaticity; one might remember a face, a name, or an event without making any conscious effort to do so. This spontaneity is a distinct feature of remembering, where past experiences or knowledge surface in the mind unprompted. In contrast, recall is generally effortful and is more about reconstruction of memory. It involves actively searching and bringing forth the specific details from the memory, which can sometimes be challenging, especially for distant or obscured memories.
When people remember, they often experience a richer, more multidimensional recollection, potentially filled with emotions, sensory details, and contextual information. This vividness and complexity of remembrance stand in contrast with recall, where the focus is primarily on retrieving specific facts or details, often in a more isolated and decontextualized manner, requiring the mental effort to pull them out of memory.
In everyday language usage, to remember typically implies a more passive process, an unintentional arising of memories triggered by a cue or context. Recall, on the other hand, is predominantly used to denote an active, intentional process of retrieving information, demonstrating the individual’s ability to access and declare specific pieces of information from their memory.
The distinction between remember and recall is also eminent in psychological research, where studies on memory often differentiate between tasks that require participants to spontaneously remember information and those that require them to actively recall it. These tasks help in understanding the different mechanisms and pathways involved in remembering and recalling, and how these processes can be affected by various factors like age, stress, and neurological conditions.
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Comparison Chart
Process
Passive and spontaneous.
Active and intentional.
Effort
Typically automatic and effortless.
Requires mental effort to retrieve specific information.
Detail
Often rich with contextual and sensory details.
More focused on retrieving isolated facts or details.
Cue Dependency
Often triggered by cues or contexts.
Can be independent of external cues, based on internal effort.
Application
Everyday spontaneous remembrance of past events or facts.
Often used in academic or professional settings for specific retrieval of information.
Compare with Definitions
Remember
To have in one's mind an awareness of something experienced or learned in the past.
I vividly remember the first time I rode a bicycle.
Recall
To bring back to mind; to recollect.
I can’t recall where I placed my keys.
Remember
To not forget to perform a task or action.
Remember to lock the doors before you leave.
Recall
To request the return of.
The embassy had to recall its diplomats amid growing tensions.
Remember
To recall to the mind with effort; think of again
I finally remembered the address.
Recall
To ask or order to return
Recalled all workers who had been laid off.
Remember
To have (something) arise in one's memory; become aware of (something) suddenly or spontaneously
Then I remembered that today is your birthday.
Recall
To remember; recollect
I don't recall her name.
Remember
To retain in the memory
Remember your appointment.
Recall
To be reminiscent of; seem similar to
A movie that recalls the screwball comedies of the 1940s.
Remember
To keep (someone) in mind as worthy of consideration or recognition.
Recall
To summon back to awareness of or concern with the subject or situation at hand
The opening of the door recalled me from my reverie.
Remember
To reward with a gift or tip
Remembered his niece in his will.
Recall
To cancel, take back, or revoke
Recall a move in chess.
Remember
To give greetings from
Remember me to your family.
Recall
To bring back; restore
"an atmosphere of penetrating fragrance, the gentle potency of which had recalled her from her death-like faintness" (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
Remember
(Engineering) To return to (an original shape or form) after being deformed or altered. Used especially of certain materials.
Recall
To subject (an elected official) to a recall.
Remember
(Archaic) To remind.
Recall
To request return of (a product) to the manufacturer, as for necessary repairs or adjustments.
Remember
To have or use the power of memory.
Recall
The act of recalling or summoning back, especially an official order to return
The recall of the ambassador.
Remember
To recall something; have a recollection.
Recall
A signal, such as a bugle call, used to summon troops back to their posts.
Remember
To recall from one's memory; to have an image in one's memory.
Recall
The ability to remember information or experiences
Has total recall of the accident.
Remember
To memorize; to put something into memory.
Please remember this formula!
Recall
The act of revoking
The recall of an answer in a spelling bee.
Remember
To keep in mind, be mindful of
Remember what I've said.
Recall
The procedure by which an elected official may be removed from office by popular vote.
Remember
To not forget (to do something required)
Remember to lock the door when you go out.
Recall
The right to employ this procedure.
Remember
To convey greetings from.
Please remember me to your brother.
She asks to be remembered to you all.
Recall
A request by the manufacturer of a product that has been identified as defective to return it, as for necessary repairs or adjustments.
Remember
(obsolete) To put in mind; to remind (also used reflexively)
Recall
(transitive) To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order).
Remember
(intransitive) To engage in the process of recalling memories.
You don't have to remind him; he remembers very well.
Recall
(transitive) To call back, bring back or summon (someone) to a specific place, station etc.
He was recalled to service after his retirement.
She was recalled to London for the trial.
Remember
(transitive) To give (a person) money as a token of appreciation of past service or friendship.
My aunt remembered me in her will, leaving me several thousand pounds.
Recall
To remove an elected official through a petition and direct vote.
Remember
(transitive) to commemorate, to have a remembrance ceremony
Today we remember and honour those who have served.
Recall
(transitive) To bring back (someone) to or from a particular mental or physical state, activity etc.
Remember
(rare) re-member
Recall
(transitive) To call back (a situation, event etc.) to one's mind; to remember, recollect.
Remember
To have (a notion or idea) come into the mind again, as previously perceived, known, or felt; to have a renewed apprehension of; to bring to mind again; to think of again; to recollect; as, I remember the fact; he remembers the events of his childhood; I cannot remember dates.
We are said to remember anything, when the idea of it arises in the mind with the consciousness that we have had this idea before.
Recall
To call again, to call another time.
Remember
To be capable of recalling when required; to keep in mind; to be continually aware or thoughtful of; to preserve fresh in the memory; to attend to; to think of with gratitude, affection, respect, or any other emotion.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
That they may have their wages duly paid 'em,And something over to remember me by.
Remember what I warn thee; shun to taste.
Recall
(transitive) To request or order the return of (a faulty product).
Remember
To put in mind; to remind; - also used reflexively and impersonally.
My friends remembered me of home.
Remember you of passed heaviness.
And well thou wost [knowest] if it remember thee.
Recall
The action or fact of calling someone or something back.
Remember
To mention.
Recall
Request of the return of a faulty product.
Recall campaign
Remember
To recall to the mind of another, as in the friendly messages, remember me to him, he wishes to be remembered to you, etc.
Recall
The right or procedure by which a public official may be removed from office before the end of their term of office, by a vote of the people to be taken on the filing of a petition signed by a required number or percentage of qualified voters.
Recall petition
Representative recall
Remember
To execise or have the power of memory; as, some remember better than others.
Recall
(US politics) The right or procedure by which the decision of a court may be directly reversed or annulled by popular vote, as was advocated, in 1912, in the platform of the Progressive Party for certain cases involving the police power of the state.
Remember
Recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection;
I can't remember saying any such thing
I can't think what her last name was
Can you remember her phone number?
Do you remember that he once loved you?
Call up memories
Recall
Memory; the ability to remember.
Remember
Keep in mind for attention or consideration;
Remember the Alamo
Remember to call your mother every day!
Think of the starving children in India!
Recall
The fraction of (all) relevant material that is returned by a search.
Precision and recall
Remember
Recapture the past; indulge in memories;
He remembered how he used to pick flowers
Recall
To call back; to summon to return; as, to recall troops; to recall an ambassador.
If Henry were recalled to life again.
Remember
Show appreciation to;
He remembered her in his will
Recall
To revoke; to annul by a subsequent act; to take back; to withdraw; as, to recall words, or a decree.
Passed sentence may not be recall'd.
Remember
Mention favourably, as in prayer;
Remember me in your prayers
Recall
To call back to mind; to revive in memory; to recollect; to remember; as, to recall bygone days.
Remember
Mention as by way of greeting or to indicate friendship;
Remember me to your wife
Recall
A calling back; a revocation.
'T is done, and since 't is done, 't is past recall.
Remember
Exercise, or have the power of, memory;
After the shelling, many people lost the ability to remember
Some remember better than others
Recall
A call on the trumpet, bugle, or drum, by which soldiers are recalled from duty, labor, etc.
Remember
Call to remembrance; keep alive the memory of someone or something, as in a ceremony;
We remembered the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
Remember the dead of the First World War
Recall
The right or procedure by which a public official, commonly a legislative or executive official, may be removed from office, before the end of his term of office, by a vote of the people to be taken on the filing of a petition signed by a required number or percentage of qualified voters.
Remember
To bring to mind or think of again.
Do you remember the story he told us last night?
Recall
A request by the manufacturer of a defective product to return the product (as for replacement or repair)
Remember
To retain in the memory.
Remember the lessons learned from past experiences.
Recall
A call to return;
The recall of our ambassador
Remember
To keep in mind for attention or consideration.
Remember the needs of the less fortunate.
Recall
A bugle call that signals troops to return
Recall
The process of remembering (especially the process of recovering information by mental effort);
He has total recall of the episode
Recall
The act of removing an official by petition
Recall
Recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection;
I can't remember saying any such thing
I can't think what her last name was
Can you remember her phone number?
Do you remember that he once loved you?
Call up memories
Recall
Go back to something earlier;
This harks back to a previous remark of his
Recall
Call to mind;
His words echoed John F. Kennedy
Recall
Summon to return;
The ambassador was recalled to his country
The company called back many of the workers it had laid off during the recession
Recall
Cause one's (or someone else's) thoughts or attention to return from a reverie or digression;
She was recalled by a loud laugh
Recall
Make unavailable; bar from sale or distribution;
The company recalled the product when it was found to be faulty
Recall
Cause to be returned;
Recall the defective auto tires
The manufacturer tried to call back the spoilt yoghurt
Recall
To summon back and withdraw the effect of.
The manufacturer had to recall the defective products.
Recall
To revive the memory of.
Listening to that song recalls memories of my childhood.
Recall
To bring back.
I tried hard to recall the details of the meeting.
Common Curiosities
Is recall always accurate?
No, recall can sometimes be flawed or distorted due to various factors like biases and misinformation.
Can you remember without recalling?
Yes, you can remember something spontaneously without actively trying to recall it.
Is remembering always unintentional?
No, while remembering can be spontaneous, one can intentionally try to remember something.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
