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Glite Dictionary
to unthink

to unthink

1 9.3
Try to push a memory or idea out of your mind
  • verb
  • /ʌnˈθɪŋk/
translation icon : olvidar
  • The nagging irritation caused the slightest dulling of his senses and, unthinking, the young psychiatrist made a blunder in his work.

Examples

  • And once he thought that, he could not unthink it, and he decided he would find out.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "It has never yet been discovered how to make a man unknown his knowledge or unthink his thoughts."

    Academic text (1995)

  • Everything else could be healed, but I couldn't unthink that thought.

  • I can't unthink what I thinked.

    To Olivia (2021)

  • After hearing the shocking news, he tried to unthink it, but it kept coming back to him.

  • She wanted to unthink the hurtful words he said, but they lingered in her mind.

  • It was impossible for him to unthink the image of the accident that had haunted him all night.

Synonyms

to forget
vsto unthink
∞ 1.8

Decide not to think about something

is aimed at intentionally removing a particular thought or idea
to bury
vsto unthink
328 4.1

To try to stop thinking about a memory or feeling

is a deliberate attempt that may not fully remove the idea
to unlearn
vsto unthink
9 6.4

To stop a habit or belief you had before

is about removing a single thought or idea rather than learned skills
to unsee
vsto unthink
  • Texting
7 9.1

To try to forget a disturbing image you have seen

is deliberate removal of a thought or idea not limited to visual cases
to unhear
vsto unthink
  • Texting
2 9.9

To try to forget something you heard that made you upset

is deliberate removal of a thought or idea not limited to auditory cases

Antonyms

to remember
∞ 1.0

To think about something from the past

How Complete

to eradicate
85 6.6
to unthink
1 9.3
to repress
75 6.6
to suppress
88 5.8

Surface Forms

unthink infinitive
unthinking present participle
unthinks third person singular
unthought past
unthought past participle

Morphology

unthink = think (semi-transparent) = un + think

Formed by the productive prefix 'un-' plus 'think', but the exact pragmatic sense ('to try to remove a thought') is somewhat nonstandard and not fully predictable for all learners.

Etymology

Unthink is made from the part un- meaning 'not' or 'reverse' and think meaning 'to have a thought', just like in undo or untie. So to unthink something is to try to 'undo' a thought — to remove or forget an idea on purpose.