unlearn

American  

[uhn-lurn] / ʌnˈlɜrn /

verb (used with object)

1. to forget or lose knowledge of.

2. to discard or put aside certain knowledge as being false or binding.

   to unlearn preconceptions.

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verb (used without object)

1. to lose or discard knowledge.

unlearn British  

/ ʌnˈlɜːn /

verb

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

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Etymology

Origin of unlearn

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

Example Sentences

Ross invites us to unlearn the complacent strictures of cinema he never bothered to absorb.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024

He is still seeking the outer boundaries of his instrument, while everyone else was trying, in some sense, to unlearn that knowledge.

From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2024

One of the things I saw a parallel to is about trying to unlearn these toxic practices and change this culture of the sadism that we associate with these great restaurants.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2023

Ivy, who has now been diagnosed with speech dyspraxia, is having to unlearn the many inaccurate word patterns that she developed while learning to speak during the pandemic.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2023

This is so ingrained, that it is almost impossible to unlearn this Western cultural norm.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin