oblivion

American  

[uh-bliv-ee-uhn] / əˈblɪv i ən /

noun

1. the state of being completely forgotten or unknown.

   a former movie star now in oblivion.

2. the state of forgetting or of being oblivious.

   the oblivion of sleep.

3. the act or process of dying out; complete annihilation or extinction.

   If we don't preserve their habitat, the entire species will pass into oblivion.

4. Archaic. official disregard or overlooking of offenses; pardon; amnesty.

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oblivion British  

/ əˈblɪvɪən /

noun

1. the condition of being forgotten or disregarded

2. the state of being mentally withdrawn or blank

3. law an intentional overlooking, esp of political offences; amnesty; pardon

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Other Word Forms

• self-oblivion noun

Etymology

Origin of oblivion

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin oblīviōn-, stem of oblīviō “a forgetting,” equivalent to oblīv(īscī) “to forget” + -iō -ion; ob-

Example Sentences

In a statement last week, she said: "We will not allow the blood of these dear ones to be consigned to oblivion or the truth to be lost in the dust."

From BBC

Anthropic /Clawdbot almost single-handedly launching the software sector into oblivion in recent weeks,” he said.

From MarketWatch

The Pats stumbled for a bit, but instead of fading into a long oblivion as everyone outside of New England hoped, they rebooted into something oddly…likeable.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Global unencumbered copper inventories are now draining into oblivion,” says Ghali.

From The Wall Street Journal

He knew that his readers would decide whether his writing would be consigned to oblivion or not.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• darkness
• extinction
• limbo