Definition

Noun: 1. The state or condition of being forgetful; a failure to remember or retain information. This refers to the general quality of having a poor memory or the act of forgetting. 2. A tendency to forget; habitual or frequent lack of memory. This describes a recurring characteristic of a person.

Examples of Usage

• His increasing forgetfulness meant he often misplaced his keys.
• A moment of forgetfulness caused her to leave the oven on.
• Age-related forgetfulness is common, but it differs from dementia.
• She apologized for her forgetfulness in not returning the book.

Advanced Usage

• "A lapse into forgetfulness": A temporary episode or slip into a state of not remembering.
  • The medication caused occasional lapses into forgetfulness.
• Used in formal or literary contexts to imply a state of being oblivious or neglectful, beyond mere memory.
  • The nation's forgetfulness of its history troubled the scholars.

Variants and Related Words

• Forgetful (adjective): Having the characteristic of forgetfulness; prone to forgetting.
  • He became more forgetful in his old age.
• Forget (verb): The action from which the state of forgetfulness arises.
• Oblivion (noun): Can be a synonym for a state of being forgotten or completely unaware, often more extreme than forgetfulness.

Synonyms

• Absent-mindedness: A preoccupation that leads to forgetfulness.
• Amnesia: A medical condition involving memory loss (more severe and specific).
• Oversight: An unintentional failure to notice or do something, often due to forgetfulness.

Antonyms

• Memory: The faculty of remembering.
• Recollection: The action or power of recalling something to mind.
• Mindfulness: The quality of being conscious or aware.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• A senior moment: (Informal, often humorous) A temporary episode of forgetfulness associated with aging.
  • I just had a senior moment—I forgot why I walked into this room.
• Slipped my mind: A common phrase meaning "I forgot."
  • The meeting completely slipped my mind.

Noun

1. unawareness caused by neglectful or heedless failure to remember
   • his forgetfulness increased as he grew older
2. tendency to forget