look fondly back on memories

verb phrase

1. To think about past events with affection and pleasure, feeling warm and happy as you remember them.

   B1

   intransitive phrasal-prepositional verb: look fondly back on something; more commonly look back on something fondly; pattern: [+ on something]

   • "She looks back fondly on her school days."A2
   • "Years later, they looked fondly back on the friendships they had made at university."B2
   • "When I look fondly back on my childhood, I always think of my grandmother's kitchen."B1
   • "Looking fondly back on that difficult year, he now sees it as the making of him."C1

2. (of a group or public) to remember a past period or person with approval and nostalgia.

   B2

   often used in writing and journalism

   • "The city looks back fondly on the years when the festival filled every street."B2
   • "Critics look back fondly on his early films rather than his recent ones."C1