amnesia

[am-nee-zhuh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR amnesia ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

loss of a large block of interrelated memories; complete or partial loss of memory caused by brain injury, shock, etc.

Origin of amnesia

1780–90; < New Latin < Greek amnēsía, variant of amnēstía oblivion; perhaps learnedly formed from mnē-, stem of mimnḗskesthai to remember (cf. mnemonic) + -s- + -ia -ia. See amnesty

Related formsam·nes·tic

[am-nes-tik] /æmˈnɛs tɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for amnesia

stupor, blackout, fugue

Examples from the Web for amnesia

Contemporary Examples of amnesia

For Americans, World War I rests in a dark valley of amnesia between the glowing peaks of the Civil War and World War II.
Wounds of World War I Have Yet to Heal
Michael F. Bishop
June 28, 2014
On the negative side, the sheer tonnage of opinions can overwhelm and cause a degree of amnesia.
The Best Columns of the Year
John Avlon
December 31, 2013
They were responding to that amnesia—our parents looked the other way.
Out of the Ruins of the Second World War
Lucas Wittmann
October 27, 2013
But how many sleep-deprived nights are you prepared to spend in nightspots like Les Caves du Roy, Amnesia, or Billionaire?
Simon de Pury: Visiting 16 Studios of Los Angeles’s Top Artists
Simon de Pury
August 27, 2013
Dr. Anand Veeravagu on the rare form of amnesia that can strike without warning.
Transient Global Amnesia: What Total Memory Loss Is Like
Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD
July 28, 2013

Historical Examples of amnesia

You seem remarkably clear in your mind to be afflicted with amnesia.
The White Desert
Courtney Ryley Cooper
This is the breaking point, the moment when amnesia intervenes.
When Winter Comes to Main Street
Grant Martin Overton
Some kind of hysteria and amnesia hit you while we were there.
The Memory of Mars
Raymond F. Jones
In a lesser degree, amnesia only affects limited periods of life.
Metapsychical Phenomena
J. Maxwell
What idiosyncracies of the narrator were concomitant products of amnesia?
Ulysses
James Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for amnesia

amnesia

noun

a defect in memory, esp one resulting from pathological cause, such as brain damage or hysteria

Derived Formsamnesiac (æmˈniːzɪˌæk) or amnesic (æmˈniːsɪk, -zɪk), adjective, noun

Word Origin for amnesia

C19: via New Latin from Greek: forgetfulness, probably from amnēstia oblivion; see amnesty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for amnesia

"loss of memory," 1786 (as a Greek word in English from 1670s), Modern Latin, coined from Greek amnesia "forgetfulness," from a-, privative prefix, "not" (see a- (3)) + mimneskesthai "to recall, cause to remember," a reduplicated form related to Greek mnemnon "mindful," mneme "memory," mnasthai "to remember;" from PIE root *men- "to think, remember" (see mind (n.)).

amnesia in Medicine

amnesia

[ăm-nē′zhə]

n.

The loss or impairment of memory.

amnesia in Science

amnesia

[ăm-nē′zhə]

Partial or total loss of memory, usually caused by brain injury or shock.

amnesia in Culture

amnesia

[(am-nee-zhuh)]

A loss of memory, especially one brought on by some distressing or shocking experience.

Note

A common variant is selective amnesia; the term is applied to public officials who, when questioned about alleged wrongdoing, profess that they cannot remember.