wormwood memory
- noun
- Literature
:
recuerdo amargo
- She tried to bury the wormwood memory of her failed relationship.
Examples
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The photograph brought back a wormwood memory of the loss he had endured.
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Each time he walked by the old house, a wormwood memory surfaced in his mind.
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Writing about the experience helped her overcome the wormwood memory of that difficult night.
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Her past is filled with wormwood memories.
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He often recalls a wormwood memory from his childhood.
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Every time she sees him, a wormwood memory of their argument comes flooding back.
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He couldn't shake off the wormwood memory of the mistakes he made at work.
Synonyms
A bitter feeling of regret after disappointment
Antonyms
How Painful
Surface Forms
Morphology
wormwood + memory
The phrase combines 'wormwood' (a plant metaphorically associated with bitterness) with 'memory' so the sense 'a bitter or painful recollection' is directly derivable from the constituents. Although 'wormwood' is rare and literary, if a learner knows that word the modifier+noun composition follows a regular, predictable pattern, making the meaning transparent.
Etymology
Wormwood memory may come from the old idea of wormwood, a very bitter plant once used in strong drinks and as a sign of sorrow. That's why a wormwood memory means a memory that is 'bitter' or 'painful' to remember.