word

episodic memory

ep-ih-SOD-ik MEM-oh-ree

ˌɛpɪˈsɒdɪk ˈmɛməriː

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Syllable breakdown

episodicmemory

Dictionary meaning

the type of long-term memory that stores personally experienced events, contextualized in time and place; allows mental time travel — the ability to consciously re-experience past events; contrasted with semantic memory (factual knowledge); critically dependent on the hippocampus; coined by Endel Tulving in 1972; often impaired early in Alzheimer's disease

Examples

Recalling your first day of school is an episodic memory.
Episodic memory allows us to relive experiences, not just know that they happened.

Synonyms: autobiographical memory, event memory

Pronunciation tips

The word 'episodic' comes from Greek epeisodion (episode, a coming in). Stress the third syllable: ep-ih-SOD-ik.

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