a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something: My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience.
2.
the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something: business experience.
3.
the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time: to learn from experience; the range of human experience.
4.
knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone: a man of experience.
5.
Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered.
–verb (used with object)
6.
to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel: to experience nausea.
7.
to learn by experience.
—Idiom
8.
experience religion, to undergo a spiritual conversion by which one gains or regains faith in God.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L experientia, equiv. to experient- (s. of experiéns, ptp. of experīrī to try, test; see ex-1, peril) + -ia n. suffix; see -ence]
—Related forms
ex·pe·ri·ence·a·ble, adjective
ex·pe·ri·ence·less, adjective
—Synonyms 6. encounter, know, endure, suffer. Experience,undergo refer to encountering situations, conditions, etc., in life, or to having certain sensations or feelings. Experience implies being affected by what one meets with: to experience a change of heart, bitter disappointment. Undergo usually refers to the bearing or enduring of something hard, difficult, disagreeable, or dangerous: to undergo severe hardships, an operation.
The apprehension of an object, thought, or emotion through the senses or mind: a child's first experience of snow.
Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill: a lesson taught by experience; a carpenter with experience in roof repair.
The knowledge or skill so derived.
An event or a series of events participated in or lived through.
The totality of such events in the past of an individual or group.
An event or a series of events participated in or lived through.
The totality of such events in the past of an individual or group.
tr.v.
ex·per·i·enced, ex·per·i·enc·ing, ex·per·i·enc·es
To participate in personally; undergo: experience a great adventure; experienced loneliness.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin experientia, from experiēns, experient-, present participle of experīrī, to try; see per-3 in Indo-European roots.]
1377, from O.Fr. experience, from L. experientia "knowledge gained by repeated trials," from experientem (nom. experiens), prp. of experiri "to try, test," from ex- "out of" + peritus "experienced, tested." The v. (1533) first meant "to test, try;" sense of "feel, undergo" first recorded 1588.
the accumulation of knowledge or skill that results from direct participation in events or activities; "a man of experience"; "experience is the best teacher" [ant: inexperience]
2.
the content of direct observation or participation in an event; "he had a religious experience"; "he recalled the experience vividly"
3.
an event as apprehended; "a surprising experience"; "that painful experience certainly got our attention"
verb
1.
go or live through; "We had many trials to go through"; "he saw action in Viet Nam"
2.
have firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations; "I know the feeling!"; "have you ever known hunger?"; "I have lived a kind of hell when I was a drug addict"; "The holocaust survivors have lived a nightmare"; "I lived through two divorces" [syn: know]
3.
go through (mental or physical states or experiences); "get an idea"; "experience vertigo"; "get nauseous"; "receive injuries"; "have a feeling"
4.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind; "She felt resentful"; "He felt regret" [syn: feel]
5.
undergo; "The stocks had a fast run-up" [syn: have]
(knowledge, skill or wisdom gained through) practice in some activity, or the doing of something Example: Learn by experience — don't make the same mistake again; Has she had experience in teaching?
Arabic:
تَجْرِبَه
Chinese (Simplified):
经验
Chinese (Traditional):
經驗
Czech:
zkušenost
Danish:
erfaring
Dutch:
ervaring
Estonian:
kogemus
Finnish:
kokemus
French:
expérience
Greek:
πείρα
Hungarian:
tapasztalat
Icelandic:
reynsla
Indonesian:
pengalaman
Italian:
esperienza
Japanese:
経験
Korean:
경험
Latvian:
pieredze
Lithuanian:
patirtis
Norwegian:
erfaring
Polish:
doświadczenie
Portuguese (Brazil):
experiência
Portuguese (Portugal):
experiência
Romanian:
experienţă
Russian:
опыт
Slovak:
skúsenosť
Slovenian:
izkušnja
Spanish:
experiencia
Swedish:
erfarenhet
Turkish:
tecrübe, deneyim
experience2[ikˈspiəriəns]noun
an event that affects or involves a person etc Example: The earthquake was a terrible experience.
Arabic:
تَجْرِبَه، حَدَث
Chinese (Simplified):
经历
Chinese (Traditional):
經歷
Czech:
zážitek
Danish:
oplevelse
Dutch:
ervaring
Estonian:
elamus
Finnish:
kokemus
French:
épreuve
German:
das Erlebnis
Greek:
εμπειρία
Hungarian:
élmény
Icelandic:
(lífs)reynsla
Indonesian:
peristiwa
Italian:
esperienza
Japanese:
体験
Korean:
체험
Latvian:
pārdzīvojums; piedzīvojums
Lithuanian:
išgyvenimas, įvykis
Norwegian:
opplevelse
Polish:
przeżycie
Portuguese (Brazil):
experiência
Portuguese (Portugal):
experiência
Romanian:
încercare
Russian:
случай; испытание
Slovak:
zážitok
Slovenian:
preizkušnja
Spanish:
experiencia
Swedish:
upplevelse
Turkish:
olay, hadise
experience[ikˈspiəriəns]verb
to have experience of; to feel Example: I have never before experienced such rudeness!
Ex*pe"ri*ence\, n. [F. exp['e]rience, L. experientia, tr. experiens, ?entis, p. pr. of experiri, expertus, to try; ex out + the root of pertus experienced. See Peril, and cf. Expert.]1. Trial, as a test or experiment. [Obs.] She caused him to make experience Upon wild beasts. --Spenser. 2. 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. "Guided by other's experiences." --Shak. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. --P. Henry To most men experience is like the stern lights of a ship, which illumine only the track it has passed. --Coleridge. When the consuls . . . came in . . . they knew soon by experience how slenderly guarded against danger the majesty of rulers is where force is wanting. --Holland. Those that undertook the religion of our Savior upon his preaching, had no experience of it. --Sharp. 3. An act of knowledge, one or more, by which single facts or general truths are ascertained; experimental or inductive knowledge; hence, implying skill, facility, or practical wisdom gained by personal knowledge, feeling or action; as, a king without experience of war. Whence hath the mind all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer in one word, from experience. --Locke. Experience may be acquired in two ways; either, first by noticing facts without any attempt to influence the frequency of their occurrence or to vary the circumstances under which they occur; this is observation; or, secondly, by putting in action causes or agents over which we have control, and purposely varying their combinations, and noticing what effects take place; this is experiment. --Sir J. Herschel.
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