amnesia

noun

am·​ne·​sia am-ˈnē-zhə 

1

: loss of memory due usually to brain injury, shock, fatigue, repression, or illness

2

: a gap in one's memory

3

: the selective overlooking or ignoring of events or acts that are not favorable or useful to one's purpose or position

… Americans seemed to develop a willful forgetfulness about the nation's longest military conflict, an amnesia that lasted for nearly a decade.

—Alan Brinkley

amnesiac

am-ˈnē-zhē-ˌak 

-zē-

adjective or noun

or amnesic

am-ˈnē-zik 

-sik

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Several of the women in the apartment waiting for abortions the day of the arrest suddenly developed amnesia and refused to testify. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 23 Apr. 2023

In large part, that’s due to the lack of involvement of private companies in governmental pandemic planning—and a rapid-onset amnesia of lessons learned over the past three years. —Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 29 Apr. 2023

This enables Britain’s historical amnesia. —Simran Johal, refinery29.com, 16 May 2022

Something goes wrong and she’s afflicted with temporary amnesia and is forced to stay in Laos to be re-educated about the role she’s played in creating The Kardashians. —Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2023

More on Fletcher Loyer:Having basketball amnesia makes freshman Fletcher Loyer Purdue's most clutch player Jonah Lucas, Marquette Lucas, a freshman guard who played at Harrison High School, scored a season-high 2 points against DePaul on Jan. 28. —Evan Frank, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Mar. 2023

Also: So much amnesia. —Darren Franich, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2023

This cultural amnesia is one of the really subtle ways that patriarchy plays on us. —Emily Leibert, Glamour, 29 Mar. 2023

There’s this collective amnesia that exists. —Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2021

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin amnēsia, borrowed from Greek (Septuagint) amnēsía "forgetfulness," variant of amnēstía — more at amnesty entry 1

First Known Use

1772, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

amnesia

noun

am·​ne·​sia am-ˈnē-zhə 

: severe loss of memory

amnesiac

-z(h)ē-ˌak 

adjective or noun

Medical Definition

amnesia

noun

am·​ne·​sia am-ˈnē-zhə 

1

: loss of memory sometimes including the memory of personal identity due to brain injury, shock, fatigue, repression, or illness or sometimes induced by anesthesia

a period of amnesia after the wreck

2

: a gap in one's memory

an amnesia concerning her high-school years