Keepsake
What it means
An object treasured because it preserves a personal memory.
Reach for it when naming the emotional value of an object rather than its market value
Rosa kept the pressed flower as a wedding keepsake.
Words to choose between 7
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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everyday
souvenir
Fits when the object was acquired during travel or an event
Careful Souvenir can be commercial and need not carry intimate memory.
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warm
Fits when the object passes through generations
Careful An heirloom needs family continuity and may be valued for age or money.
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warm
Fits when deep affection makes the object precious
Careful Treasure can be valuable for many reasons unrelated to memory.
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formal
Fits when an object recalls a person, place, or event
Careful Memento is cooler and can mark an unpleasant event.
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formal
relic
Fits when age or association gives the object historical importance
Careful Relic can sound religious or suggest a useless survival.
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literary
Fits when the object is explicitly linked to someone absent
Careful Remembrance more often names the act or memory than the object.
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literary
token
Fits when a small object stands for affection or remembrance
Careful Token may be symbolic but disposable and can imply inadequate effort.
Opposites 3
- discard
- trash
- forgettable item
Common phrases 3
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wedding keepsake
The handwritten menu became an unexpected wedding keepsake.
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family keepsake
A family keepsake carried the same inscription through four generations.
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small keepsake
Each child received a small keepsake from the retired teacher.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated