oblivious
Americanadjective
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unmindful; unconscious; unaware (usually followed by of orto ).
She was oblivious of his admiration.
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forgetful; without remembrance or memory.
oblivious of my former failure.
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Archaic. inducing forgetfulness.
adjective
Usage
It was formerly considered incorrect to use oblivious to mean unaware , but this use is now acceptable
Related Words
See absent-minded.
Other Word Forms
- obliviously adverb
- obliviousness noun
- self-oblivious adjective
- semioblivious adjective
- semiobliviously adverb
- unoblivious adjective
- unobliviously adverb
Etymology
Origin of oblivious
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin oblīviōsus “forgetful,” equivalent to oblīvī(scī) “to forget” + -ōsus -ous ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lighton isn’t oblivious to the power imbalance, but he’s made a movie about going forward, not being stuck.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026
“But on any given day, financial investors are in fact oblivious to fundamental shifts in global alignments or worrying attacks on U.S. institutions,” he writes.
From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026
The rest of the country seems oblivious to the silver tsunami on the horizon.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 9, 2026
Otherwise, Aled was enjoying the idea of being a father, so he put it down to normal first-time dad nerves, oblivious to the mental health struggles he was yet to face.
From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025
Abay and Dada were oblivious to those around them as they chatted softly to each other.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
