Reminiscent means reminding you of something else, or bringing back memories. When you smell fresh-baked cookies and suddenly think of your grandmother's kitchen, that scent is reminiscent of time spent at her house. When a new song sounds reminiscent of music from the 1980s, it has qualities that make you think of that era.

The word often appears with the phrase “reminiscent of.” A teacher might say a student's writing style is reminiscent of a famous author, meaning it shares similar qualities or feels similar. A building's architecture might be reminiscent of ancient Greek temples if it has tall columns and triangular roofs.

Reminiscent is about connections and echoes. It's not that two things are identical, but that one calls the other to mind. Your new friend's laugh might be reminiscent of your cousin's laugh without sounding exactly the same. A scene in a movie might be reminiscent of a famous painting, capturing a similar mood or visual style. The word helps us describe how new experiences link to older ones, and how the present reaches back to touch the past.