forgetful

[fer-get-fuhl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forgetful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

apt to forget; that forgets: a forgetful person.

heedless or neglectful (often followed by of): to be forgetful of others.

bringing on oblivion: forgetful slumber.

Origin of forgetful

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

Related formsfor·get·ful·ly, adverbfor·get·ful·ness, nounqua·si-for·get·ful, adjectivequa·si-for·get·ful·ly, adverbun·for·get·ful, adjectiveun·for·get·ful·ly, adverbun·for·get·ful·ness, noun

Synonyms for forgetful

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forgetful ON THESAURUS.COM

1. absent-minded, inattentive, unmindful.

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

Related Words for forgetfulness

inattention, nirvana, abstraction, negligence, laxness, blank, repression, oblivion, obliviousness, amnesia, suppression, carelessness, limbo, blackout, Lethe, dreaminess, paramnesia, fugue, hypomnesia

Examples from the Web for forgetfulness

Contemporary Examples of forgetfulness

The explanation in every case is oversight and forgetfulness, not malice.
The Next D.C. Power Brokers: Who’ll Replace This Obama Team?
Leslie H. Gelb
December 3, 2011

Historical Examples of forgetfulness

When souls have loved, there is no falsehood or forgetfulness.
Other Tales and Sketches
Nathaniel Hawthorne
But it was not to be drifted up with the sand of forgetfulness!
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
I confess that, when I beheld you in the ante room, I blushed for my past forgetfulness.
Calderon The Courtier
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
And what a desert for eternal rest, forgetfulness of all the world!
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
All the wealth of this world cannot buy peace for Henry Dunbar, or forgetfulness.
Henry Dunbar
M. E. Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for forgetfulness

forgetful

adjective

tending to forget

(often postpositive foll by of) inattentive (to) or neglectful (of)

poetic causing loss of memory

Derived Formsforgetfully, adverbforgetfulness, noun

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 forgetfulness

forgetful

adj.

late 14c., from forget + -ful. Related: Forgetfully; forgetfulness.