Memoir: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Memoir noun. A book in which the author tells the story of part of their own life and the people and events in it.
How to say it
MEM-wah/ˈmɛmwɑː/
2 syllables, stressed on the first (MEM). Forms: memoirs.
Memoir in a sentence
Her memoir of growing up above a chip shop became an unlikely bestseller.
He was writing a memoir, though his family kept asking him to change their names.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- autobiography
- life story
- reminiscences
- recollections
Where memoir comes from
From French mémoire, memory or a written record.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
He was writing a _____, though his family kept asking him to change their names.
- memoir
- obelus
- antihero
Show the answer
memoir: He was writing a memoir, though his family kept asking him to change their names.