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What is most important to me is that my narrator's voice is believable, and that, though it is clearly an absolute fiction, it has the emotional resonance of memoir.
Chris Bohjalian

Meaning of "memoir" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD MEMOIR

From French, from Latin memoriamemory.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF MEMOIR

memoir  [ˈmɛmwɑː] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF MEMOIR

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Memoir is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES MEMOIR MEAN IN ENGLISH?

memoir

Memoir

Memoir, is a literary nonfiction genre. More specifically, it is a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public or private that took place in the author's life. The assertions made in the work are understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of autobiography since the late 20th century, the genre is differentiated in form, presenting a narrowed focus. Like most autobiographies, memoirs are written from the first-person point of view. An autobiography tells the story of a life, while memoir tells a story from a life, such as touchstone events and turning points from the author's life. The author of a memoir may be referred to as a memoirist.

Definition of memoir in the English dictionary

The first definition of memoir in the dictionary is a biography or historical account, esp one based on personal knowledge. Other definition of memoir is an essay or monograph, as on a specialized topic. Memoir is also a memorandum.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH MEMOIR


armoire
ɑːmˈwɑː
baignoire
ˈbenwɑː
boudoir
ˈbuːdwɑː
bourgeois
ˈbʊəʒwɑː
Chihuahua
tʃɪˈwɑːwɑː
Chippewa
ˈtʃɪpɪˌwɑː
devoir
ˈdevwɑː
devoirs
dəˈvwɑː
Dubois
djuːˈbwɑː
fatwa
ˈfætwɑː
Kwa
kwɑː
moire
mwɑː
mwah
mwɑː
noir
nwɑː
Renoir
ˈrɛnwɑː
repertoire
ˈrɛpəˌtwɑː
reservoir
ˈrɛzəˌvwɑː
Seychellois
ˌseɪʃɛlˈwɑː
tous-les-mois
ˌtuːleɪˈmwɑː
wawa
ˈwɑːˌwɑː

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE MEMOIR

memo
memo pad
memoirism
memoirist
memoirs
memorabile
memorabilia
memorability
memorable
memorableness
memorably
memoranda
memoranda of association
memorandum
memorandum of association
memorandum of understanding
memorandums of association
memorative
memoria technica
memorial

WORDS THAT END LIKE MEMOIR

abattoir
au revoir
Beauvoir
choir
coir
couloir
de Beauvoir
Eure-et-Loir
film noir
gospel choir
grattoir
loir
male-voice choir
misery memoir
momoir
peignoir
Pinot Noir
preach to the choir
terroir
trottoir

Synonyms and antonyms of memoir in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «MEMOIR»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «memoir» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of memoir

Translation of «memoir» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF MEMOIR

Find out the translation of memoir to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of memoir from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «memoir» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

回忆录
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

memorias
570 millions of speakers

English

memoir
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

संस्मरण
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

مذكرات
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

мемуары
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

memoir
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

স্মৃতিকথা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

mémoire
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Memoir
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Memoiren
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

回顧録
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

회고록
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Memoir
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

cuốn hồi ký
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

நினைவுகளிலிருந்து
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

संस्मरण
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

anı yazısı
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

memorie
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

pamiętnik
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

мемуари
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

memoriu
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

απομνημονεύματα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

memoir
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

memoar
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

memoir
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of memoir

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «MEMOIR»

The term «memoir» is very widely used and occupies the 17.080 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
92
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «memoir» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of memoir
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «memoir».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «MEMOIR» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «memoir» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «memoir» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about memoir

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «MEMOIR»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word memoir.
1
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Non-fiction, and in particular the literary memoir, the stylised recollection of personal experience, is often as much about character and story and emotion as fiction is.
2
Mitch Albom
I had a very high-grade publisher tell me I was incapable of writing a memoir.
3
Isabel Allende
A memoir forces me to stop and remember carefully. It is an exercise in truth. In a memoir, I look at myself, my life, and the people I love the most in the mirror of the blank screen. In a memoir, feelings are more important than facts, and to write honestly, I have to confront my demons.
4
Kevin Barry
I have always felt a special affinity with V. S. Pritchett. He worked from the ear, primarily, as I do, and he was an all-rounder, writing short stories, novels, memoir, travelogue, critical biography. He lived to be almost 100, and he never stopped, and his work is unified by a great generosity of spirit.
5
Ishmael Beah
After I wrote my memoir, 'A Long Way Gone,' I was a bit exhausted. I didn't want to write another memoir; I felt that it might not be sane for one to speak about himself for many, many, many years in a row. At the same time, I felt the story of 'Radiance of Tomorrow' pulling at me because of the first book.
6
Alison Bechdel
That's all true, but there was something else going on for me as a kid, something about my gender identity that I haven't figured out yet. And that's one of the things I'm hoping to dissect and investigate in this memoir project.
7
Steve Bisley
Writing a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth.
8
Chris Bohjalian
What is most important to me is that my narrator's voice is believable, and that, though it is clearly an absolute fiction, it has the emotional resonance of memoir.
9
Anthony Browne
Having a memoir and a retrospective of your work running almost simultaneously when you're still alive does feel a bit posthumous.
10
Augusten Burroughs
I've just finished my next collection, Possible Side Effects, and I'm now working on a collection of holiday stories as well as a memoir about my relationship with my father.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «MEMOIR»

Discover the use of memoir in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to memoir and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
A Primate's Memoir
A Primate's Memoir is the culmination of over two decades of experience and research - an exhilarating, hilarious and daring memoir, and an astonishing masterpiece of the people and nature of Africa.
Robert M Sapolsky, 2011
2
Barbara Bush: A Memoir
Barbara Bush endures as one of America's most popular First Ladies.
Barbara Bush, 2010
3
A Stolen Life: A Memoir
The woman abducted at age 11 by a man and woman who subsequently held her hostage and sexually abused her for 18 years discusses her life.
Jaycee Dugard, 2011
4
Ruthless: A Memoir
A founder and former CEO of Ruthless Records traces his four-decade career in the music business, describing his role in the careers of such artists as Elton John, Van Morrison, and Marvin Gaye, revealing his efforts to promote the New Wave ...
Jerry Heller, 2007
5
Three Little Words: A Memoir
"Sunshine, you're my baby and I'm your only mother. You must mind the one taking care of you, but she's not your mama." Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent nine years of her life in fourteen different foster homes, living by those words.
Ashley Rhodes-Courter, 2008
6
A Memoir of the Future
A Memoir of the Future, Bion's unorthodox attempt to cast psychoanalytic speculation in fictional form, is composed of three semi-autobiographical novels: The Dream (1975), The Past Presented (1977), and The Dawn of Oblivion (1979).
Wilfred R. Bion, 1990
7
On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft
Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have.
Stephen King, 2000
8
What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love
What Remains is a vivid and haunting memoir about a girl from a working-class town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill.
Carole Radziwill, 2005
9
The Russian Memoir: History and Literature
Essays map the aesthetic form and social and political functions of the memoir in modern Russian literature
Beth Holmgren, 2003
10
Politics, Pollution, and Pandas: An Environmental Memoir
The author recounts his role in influencing U.S. environmental policy in the late 1960s and early 1970s and describes the people, places, and events that affected this period of environmental history.
Russell E. Train, 2003

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «MEMOIR»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term memoir is used in the context of the following news items.
1
So You Want To Write A Graphic Memoir? This Is How To Get …
Hart's memoir Rosalie Lightning, which details the death of his daughter and the eventual aftermath, will be published by St. Martin's Press in ... «Tech Times, Jul 15»
2
Carlos Santana's memoir 'The Universal Tone' wins American Book …
The legendary guitarist's memoir “The Universal Tone,” co-written with Ashley Kahn and Hal Miller, was among the winners of the 36th annual ... «Fox News Latino, Jul 15»
3
Journalist Jim Lowney Presents His Memoir at LBI Library Signing …
Veteran New Jersey journalist Jim Lowney will be signing copies of his recently released memoir, A Few Believed in Me: A Newsman's ... «The SandPaper, Jul 15»
4
Memoir shares life story of Minnie Riperton - The Philadelphia Tribune
Simmons writes in a highly descriptive, conversational style that makes her memoir a very easy read, and beyond devoted fans of the uniquely ... «The Philadelphia Tribune, Jul 15»
5
Memoir: I was addicted to starving myself | Toronto Life
Memoir: I was addicted to starving myself. By Jacob Roth | Illustration by Anastasiya Milova. memoir-the-hunger-games. I grew up in an ... «Toronto Life, Jul 15»
6
Johnson City native publishes memoir exploring her journey as a …
Johnson City native Amy Seek's memoir, "God and Jetfire: Confessions of a Birth Mother" hit the shelves last week in major book stores around ... «Johnson City Press, Jul 15»
7
Santana memoir among winners of American Book Awards
Santana and co-authors Ashley Kahn and Hal Miller were cited Monday for the memoir "The Universal Tone." James won for his nearly ... «The Denver Post, Jul 15»
8
Founder of Abercrombie & Kent recounts life of adventure in new …
That's set to change on August 11, 2015, with the publication of Safari: A Memoir of a Worldwide Travel Pioneer, in which the Monaco-based ... «Fortune, Jul 15»
9
Santana memoir among winners of American Book Awards - 12 News
Santana and co-authors Ashley Kahn and Hal Miller were cited Monday for the memoir "The Universal Tone." James won for his nearly 700-page novel "A Brief ... «12NewsNow.Com, Jul 15»
10
Everything You Ever Wanted: Jillian Lauren's Poignant Adoption …
She was in Chicago as part of the book tour for her stunning new memoir, Everything You Ever Wanted. I was keenly interested in meeting ... «ChicagoNow, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Memoir [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/memoir>. Apr 2024 ».
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