rhizoverbBeta
DictionarynostalgiaLonging for the past
noun

nostalgia

nuh-STAL-juh/nəˈstældʒə/

A sentimental longing for an earlier time or place.

Looking through old family photos fills me with nostalgia.

A young man pauses over a large childhood photograph, tenderly touching the pictured child while holding his preserved toy sailboat close to his chest.
Etymology
nostGreekhomecoming
+algiaGreekpain, grief

The pain of wanting to return home originally named severe homesickness. That longing for a distant place broadened into longing for a vanished time—the sentimental yearning for the past.

In context

LouisvilleMetroTV14:08
Thoughts moved from visions of the future to nostalgia of the past and the birth of our nation.
Renovate Louisville "Of Steel & Glass - Mid-Century Modern Architecture" (Director's Cut)

More examples

  • She feels nostalgia for the neighborhood where she grew up.
  • That song brings back a wave of nostalgia.
  • Despite his nostalgia for college, he enjoys his life now.

Forms

nostalgia

nostalgic adjective — Feeling or expressing longing for the past.

nostalgically adverb — With sentimental longing for the past.

Similar words

longing
Longing can concern anything desired, not just remembered experiences.
homesickness
Homesickness centers on missing home, not necessarily the past.