obliviscence

9.9

A gradual loss of memories that makes you forget the past

noun

Archaic

: olvido

Again, a tactic of image ethics is to confront and, to the degree possible, reverse such obliviscence.

Examples

And what is the nature of a system of representation that can produce convention and invention, remembrance and obliviscence, at one and the same time?

Academic text (1996)
The book explores the obliviscence of historical events, highlighting how memory can fade over time.
After years of service, the soldier gradually fell into obliviscence, with few remembering his contributions.
The old traditions faced obliviscence, as the younger generation became increasingly disconnected from their heritage.

Synonyms

oblivion

vsobliviscence

77 8.1

A situation when something is completely forgotten and not thought about

is broader and covers forgetting as a process as well as the state

obliviousness

vsobliviscence

2 7.4

Not noticing things happening around you

focuses on the internal lack of awareness rather than not being remembered by others

forgottenness

vsobliviscence

7.7

A state when no one remembers a person or thing

also includes the act or process of losing memory or becoming unremembered

Antonyms

memory

∞ 1.3

A thing you remember from the past

remembrance

14 3.9

The ability to remember people, events, or information

How Forgetful

forgetfulness

11 3.5

obliviscence

Archaic

9.9

memory

628 2.8

Surface Forms

obliviscence singular

obliviscences plural

Morphology

obliviscence = oblivisc + ence

Although the word ends in the productive noun suffix '-ence', the stem 'oblivisc-' is a learned Latin borrowing that is not transparent to most English learners.

Etymology

The word obliviscence comes from the old Latin word oblivisci, which means 'to forget', and you can see the same root in English words like oblivion and oblivious. So, obliviscence is the act or state of 'forgetting', like memories slowly fading away into a soft fog.