anterograde

1 9.9

Unable to make new memories after an event like a head injury

adjective
/ˌæntəˈroʊɡreɪd/

Specialized

: anterógrado

After his accident, he struggled with anterograde amnesia, making it difficult to remember new faces.

Examples

And conversely, the TV show with the cast of anterograde amnesiacs is probably my least favorite form of storytelling.

Blog text (28)
The patient with anterograde amnesia could not recall events that occurred after the injury, affecting his daily life.
My grandfather had, I think, anterograde amnesia:

Academic text (2010)
It's a sedative that causes anterograde amnesia.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
They had two months of anterograde, IE moving forward amnesia.
Doctors explained that anterograde amnesia would prevent her from forming new memories following the trauma.

Antonyms

retrograde

Specialized

3 9.2

Not remembering events that happened just before an injury

Compounds

anterograde amnesia

Specialized

1 9.1

Unable to form new memories after an injury or event, while older memories stay

Surface Forms

anterograde positive

Morphology

anterograde = grade (opaque) = antero + grade

Although formed from the combining form 'antero-' (forward) + 'grade', the medical meaning referring to a type of amnesia is technical and not directly inferable by a general B1 learner.

Etymology

Anterograde comes from the parts antero- meaning 'forward' or 'in front' and -grade meaning 'step' or 'move', like in retrograde which means 'moving backward'. So, anterograde amnesia is when you cannot form new memories after an event and cannot remember what happens going forward.