Meanings
plural collective memories
- human sciencesA shared pool of information held in the memories of multiple members of a group.
The shift in the collective memory is also taking place in local schools, where some teachers still refuse to teach lessons on 1921.
2020 February 11, Russell Cobb, “Shifting Collective Memory in Tulsa”, in The New York Times, →ISSN2 more examples
Is it important, or even possible, for people to remember the events of Sept. 11 as they happened? Or is it more important for a society to concentrate on collective memory?
2001 October 27, Sarah Boxer, “A Memorial Is Itself A Shaper Of Memory”, in The New York Times, →ISSNAt the same time it vividly evokes the almost preposterous horror of war itself, which Mr. [Walid] Raad experiences both first hand and from a distance, and has evoked as semifictional collective memory.
2006 March 5, Holland Cotter, “The Collective Conscious”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Translations
Arabic ذاكرة جمعية
- ذاكرة جمعيةshared pool of information
Catalan memòria col·lectiva
- memòria col·lectivashared pool of information
Chinese Mandarin 集體回憶 /集体回忆, 集體記憶 /集体记忆
- 集體回憶 /集体回忆 (jítǐ huíyì)shared pool of information
- 集體記憶 /集体记忆 (jítǐ jìyì)shared pool of information
Czech historická paměť
- historická paměťshared pool of information
Dutch collectief geheugen
- collectief geheugenshared pool of information
Finnish kollektiivinen muisti
- kollektiivinen muistishared pool of information
French mémoire collective
- mémoire collectiveshared pool of information
German kollektives Gedächtnis
- kollektives Gedächtnisshared pool of information
Hebrew זיכרון קולקטיבי
- זיכרון קולקטיביshared pool of information
Italian memoria collettiva
- memoria collettivashared pool of information
Persian حافظه جمعی
- حافظه جمعیshared pool of information
Polish pamięć kolektywna
- pamięć kolektywnashared pool of information
Portuguese memória coletiva
- memória coletivashared pool of information
Russian коллекти́вная па́мять
- коллекти́вная па́мять (kollektívnaja pámjatʹ)shared pool of information
Spanish memoria colectiva
- memoria colectivashared pool of information
Turkish toplumsal hafıza
- toplumsal hafızashared pool of information
Ukrainian колекти́вна па́м'ять
- колекти́вна па́м'ять (kolektývna pámʺjatʹ)shared pool of information
Cite this entry
collective memory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collective%20memory
“collective memory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collective%20memory. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “collective memory,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collective%20memory.
Source: collective memory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.