To remember something is to think of it again. This general verb describes the mechanism of recalling something to the mind by an act or effort of memory: I tried to remember the best route to the house. To reminisce is to recall past experiences or events, or to indulge in reminiscence. Whereas remembering can be a chore, reminiscing is more like taking a pleasant stroll down memory lane and stopping every so often along the way soak up the scenery. When we reminisce about the old days, for instance, we recall long-gone experiences fondly, in a sort of dreamy and perhaps even wistful or nostalgic state.

Unlucky is used a few different ways. It can describe things that are thought to bring bad luck, such as unlucky number, or it can describe people that have been unsuccessful in an endeavor or that been met with unfortunate circumstances. Hapless deals with the latter. This pitiable adjective is defined as “luckless” or “unfortunate,” and it most commonly describes people that simply can’t catch a break. The lamentable status of a hapless individual is reflected in the adjectives that regularly appear near it, such as poor (meaning unfortunate), helpless, hopeless, and miserable (the poor hapless fool was utterly hopeless!).

The adjective unreasonable describes ideas or behaviors that are not guided by reason or sound judgement. It can also refer to things that exceed sensible expectation (a list of unreasonable demands) or that are exorbitant or unconscionable (the prices were unreasonable). Things that are irrational are utterly illogical and may border on the absurd. An irrational fear is one that is not grounded in logic or reason and is therefore unlikely to come true. In mathematics, irrational is used to describe a number that cannot be exactly expressed as a ratio of two integers, such as pi.