photographic memory
11
5.2
- noun
- /ˌfoʊtəˈgræfɪk ˈmɛməri/
:
memoria fotográfica
- My friend has a photographic memory, allowing him to recall every detail from the books he reads.
I will study the same page until it's photographic memory from writing the same thing down.
- I will study the same page until it's photographic memory from writing the same thing down.
Examples
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They say she has a photographic memory.
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Where others pored over textbooks and sweated out exams, Dex breezed through with a near-photographic memory and a clever ability to tell his teachers exactly what they wanted to hear.
Fiction book (1999) -
Listen, your whole photographic memory thing, how does that work?
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I thought you said you have a photographic memory.
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I have a photographic memory, that helps.
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Do you have a photographic memory?
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I have a photographic memory.
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I have a photographic memory for everything important.
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I've got a photographic memory.
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He has a photographic memory.
Synonyms
An ability to notice and remember what you see very clearly
How well a person remembers facts or past events
Antonyms
How Accurate
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from 'photographic' (like a photograph, capturing visual detail) plus 'memory' (the ability to remember), so it conveys remembering with picture-like precision. This compositional metaphor is transparent and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Photographic memory comes from the picture of the mind working like a camera: photographic means like a photograph or picture and memory is the power to remember. That's why the phrase describes someone who seems to keep exact images or facts in their head and 'never forgets' what they saw.