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

Examples of amnesia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, brand amnesia turns even your most loyal customers into strangers, showing that internal silos matter more than their time and experience. — Jerry Haywood, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026

At what point does separating the art from the artist become an exercise in willful amnesia? — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2026

These include immune amnesia, a type of immunosuppression in which the measles virus destroys immune cells and adaptive responses. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026

Ketamine can cause a slew of other side effects, including delirium, amnesia, increased salivation, abnormal eye movements, high blood pressure and potentially fatal breathing problems. — Christopher P. Holstege, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2026

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

Rhymes for amnesia

• atresia
• babesia
• anaesthesia
• analgesia
• anesthesia
• dyskinesia
• paresthesia
• hyperalgesia
• hyperesthesia

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