Nostalgia: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Nostalgia noun. A fond, slightly sad longing for a happy time in the past.
How to say it
nos-TAL-juh/nɒˈstældʒə/
3 syllables, stressed on the second (TAL).
Nostalgia in a sentence
The smell of school dinners filled him with an unexpected nostalgia.
Their wedding playlist is pure nostalgia: every song from the summer of 1999.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- wistfulness
- longing
- reminiscence
- sentimentality
Where nostalgia comes from
Coined in 1688 from Greek nostos, homecoming, and algos, pain; it first meant homesickness.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Their wedding playlist is pure _____: every song from the summer of 1999.
- nostalgia
- limerence
- eudaimonia
Show the answer
nostalgia: Their wedding playlist is pure nostalgia: every song from the summer of 1999.