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oblivion

oblivion

77 8.1
A situation when something is completely forgotten and not thought about
  • noun
  • /əˈblɪviən/
translation icon : olvido
  • Or if there's nothing after death, if there's just oblivion, well, I won't be around to worry about it.
  • fade into oblivion
  • fall into oblivion
  • pass into oblivion

He went from oblivion to oblivious to superstar.

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Examples

  • After many years, the story of the hero was lost to oblivion.

  • Death deals release and oblivion.

  • I want this country to realize that we stand on the edge of oblivion.

  • Invite him, let him say his piece about South Africa... then let him slip into oblivion.

  • For the mass of mankind, absolute oblivion, like death, is sure.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Their leaders have already sunk into oblivion, and the memory of those great days has faded.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Leafing through American social history is to remember the oblivion of women's stories in the making of Indonesian history.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The march into oblivion was visible in the inaugural electoral process in post-Communist BH.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Among the adventives on this list that have faded into oblivion are two crop-mimicking weeds.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The once-famous artist faded into oblivion as newer talents emerged.

Synonyms

obscurity
vsoblivion
33 7.4

A time when a person or thing is unknown and not noticed

focuses on being no longer remembered or thought about, not merely unnoticed
forgottenness
vsoblivion
7.7

A state when no one remembers a person or thing

includes being unknown or not thought about beyond mere memory
obliviscence
vsoblivion
  • Archaic
9.9

A gradual loss of memories that makes you forget the past

refers to the lasting state of being entirely unremembered rather than the action

Antonyms

recognition
  • Formal
50 2.8

An official body accepts something as true or real

14 3.9

The ability to remember people, events, or information

How Forgotten

oblivion
77 8.1
obscurity
33 7.4
remembrance
14 3.9

Surface Forms

oblivion singular
oblivions plural

Morphology

oblivion = obliv + ion

The morpheme 'obliv' is not a standalone English word and the meaning of 'oblivion' (being forgotten) is not transparently derived by an average learner from its parts.

Etymology

Oblivion comes from the Latin oblivio, from the verb oblivisci meaning 'to forget'. A helpful way to remember it is to picture a place where lost memories go, and the same root gives us oblivious, so oblivion means the state of being completely forgotten.