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

As so often in New York now, physical erasure meets generational amnesia. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025

In her almost 50 years in the role, Marlena’s trials and tribulations have included falling out of a window, hysterical amnesia, kidnapping, being targeted by serial killers, being replaced by an unhinged lookalike, and, most famously, two demonic possessions. —Victoria Edel, People.com, 15 July 2025

Clearly, the best way to avoid immune amnesia or SSPE from the measles is to not get the measles in the first place. —Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025

The series flashes between the two summers, as Cadence tries to solve the mystery of her amnesia and what has happened with her family’s various characters. —Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 2 July 2025

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