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 the state of being mentally withdrawn or blank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

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Anything is better than plugging back into digital oblivion, where nothing but predatory, algorithmic evil awaits.

From Salon

Mr. Wade describes the plunge in fertility rates around the world as “a quite novel and unexpected path for social development, one that leads to oblivion.”

From The Wall Street Journal

By the time of his death in 1903, he had faded into political oblivion.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The models would get too confused and everything would blur into oblivion…Trainium really allowed us to run a bigger model which is smarter and doesn’t crash quickly.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• darkness
• extinction
• limbo