Word.ws English Dictionary

selective memory

selective memory noun: the ability to retrieve certain facts and events but not others.

Noun

selective memory (uncountable)

  1. The ability to retrieve certain facts and events but not others.
  2. An ability to remember some facts while apparently forgetting others, especially when they are inconvenient, embarrassing, or disadvantageous.

Questions about selective memory

What does selective memory mean?
Selective memory means the ability to retrieve certain facts and events but not others.
What part of speech is selective memory?
Selective memory is a noun.

Words near selective memory in the dictionary

  1. selective distortion
  2. selective distortions
  3. selective eating disorder
  4. selective eating disorders
  5. selective fire
  6. selective memory
  7. selective mutism
  8. selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor
  9. selective school
  10. selective schools
  11. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: selective memory (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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