unlearn

[ uhn-lurn ]

/ ʌnˈlɜrn /

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See synonyms for: unlearned on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to forget or lose knowledge of.

to discard or put aside certain knowledge as being false or binding: to unlearn preconceptions.

verb (used without object)

to lose or discard knowledge.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

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Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

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Origin of unlearn

First recorded in 1400–50, unlearn is from the late Middle English word unlernen.See un-², learn

Words nearby unlearn

unlawful assembly, unlax, unlay, unlead, unleaded, unlearn, unlearned, unlearnt, unleash, unleavened, unless

How to use unlearn in a sentence

Learning racial literacy can help young people unlearn and refuse all forms of social domination—to reconfigure, together, how we relate to one another.
American Schools Are Failing to Equip Students With Racial Literacy—And We've Seen Firsthand How It Happens|Priya Vulchi|August 13, 2021|Time
All of us really need to do work into our communities to unlearn these harmful narratives about each other.
Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans Are on the Rise. Many Say More Policing Isn't the Answer|Cady Lang|February 18, 2021|Time
I was shocked by the dramatic discovery, but to really understand it, I first had to unlearn some things.
The Epigenetic Secrets Behind Dopamine, Drug Addiction and Depression|R. Douglas Fields|October 27, 2020|Quanta Magazine
I learned some things I can never unlearn about organic decomposition and human bone.
The Real-Life Raiders of the Lost Ark|Alex Belth|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I learned some things I can't unlearn: human kneecaps look like rocks; bones when burnt, shrink and twist.
Knowing Where the Bodies Are Buried: An Excerpt From 'Lives in Ruins'|Marilyn Johnson|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
The Radical History of Mother’s Day|Matthew Paul Turner|May 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
About how your character and judgments were formed and how you came to unlearn that first and not always painful formation?
Marco Roth’s Book Bag: The Anti-Memoir Memoir|Marco Roth|October 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Two friends try to unlearn bad-relationship habits by dating each other, exclusively, for 40 days.
Are the 40 Days Duo Really a Couple?|Abby Haglage|September 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Who likes to own that he has been a fool all his life,—to unlearn all that he has been taught in his youth?
My Recollections of Lord Byron|Teresa Guiccioli
As art multiplies, false tastes will arise, the early painters had not so much to unlearn as modern artists.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXVIII. February, 1843. Vol. LIII.|Various
Women have to unlearn the false good manners of their slavery before they acquire the genuine good manners of their freedom.
You Never Can Tell|George Bernard Shaw
And here labour has more to learn than ability; or perhaps it may be truer to say that socialism has given it more to unlearn.
A Critical Examination of Socialism|William Hurrell Mallock
Smithy was getting on very well, Thad thought, considering how much he had to "unlearn" in order to make a good scout.
The Boy Scouts' First Camp Fire|Herbert Carter

British Dictionary definitions for unlearn

unlearn

/ (ʌnˈlɜːn) /

verb -learns, -learning, -learned (-ˈlɜːnd) or -learnt

to try to forget (something learnt) or to discard (accumulated knowledge)

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