experience
Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /ɪkˈspɪɹ.i.əns/
  • (RP) IPA: /ɪkˈspɪə.ɹɪəns/
Noun

experience

  1. The effect upon the judgment or feelings produced by any event, whether witnessed or participated in; personal and direct impressions as contrasted with description or fancies; personal acquaintance; actual enjoyment or suffering.
    It was an experience he would not soon forget.
    • Those that undertook the religion of our Savior upon his preaching, had no experience of it.
  2. (countable) An activity one has performed.
  3. (countable) A collection of events and/or activities from which an individual or group may gather knowledge, opinions, and skills.
    • To most men experience is like the stern lights of a ship, which illumine only the track it has passed.
    • When the consuls […] came in […] they knew soon by experience how slenderly guarded against danger the majesty of rulers is where force is wanting.
    • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Thomas Basset, […], OCLC 153628242 ↗, book I, page 1 ↗:
      Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer in one word, from experience.
  4. (uncountable) The knowledge thus gathered.
  5. (obsolete, uncountable) Trial; a test or experiment.
    • She caused him to make experience / Upon wild beasts.
Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

experience (experiences, present participle experiencing; past and past participle experienced)

  1. (transitive) To observe certain events; undergo a certain feeling or process; or perform certain actions that may alter one or contribute to one's knowledge, opinions, or skills.
Synonyms Translations


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.002
Offline English dictionary