forgetful

[fer-get-fuhl]

adjective

1. apt to forget; that forgets.

   a forgetful person.

   Synonyms: unmindful, inattentive, absent-minded

2. heedless or neglectful (often followed byof ).

   to be forgetful of others.

3. bringing on oblivion.

   forgetful slumber.

forgetful

/ fəˈɡɛtfʊl /

adjective

1. tending to forget

2. inattentive (to) or neglectful (of)

3. poetic,  causing loss of memory

Other Word Forms

• forgetfully adverb
• forgetfulness noun
• quasi-forgetful adjective
• quasi-forgetfully adverb
• unforgetful adjective
• unforgetfully adverb
• unforgetfulness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of forgetful¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; forget, -ful

Example Sentences

That luxury has, I fear, made us forgetful.

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With each passing year, I see and hear the patient’s spiral of worry: Am I getting more forgetful?

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Maybe he was wounded, misidentified, forgetful of who he was.

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Many women talk about having "pregnancy brain" or "baby brain", to describe feeling forgetful, absent-minded or having brain fog.

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On paper, the show’s whimsical, forgetful hippie — whose bewildering backstory includes being part of a drug-fueled cult and being mauled to death by a bear in the woods — could easily come across as one-note.

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Related Words

• careless 
• distracted 
• inattentive 
• sloppy