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

How is that collective amnesia playing out in Brazil? —Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026

Measles also causes immune amnesia, wiping out immune memory and leading to immunosuppression that may last up to three years. —Judy Stone, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026

After a bout of amnesia turns his life ordinary, he's reminded of his former glory upon spotting a bottle of Dos Equis in the back of his fridge. —Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026

The spiders that scripted our nightmare benefit from this willful amnesia. —Jennifer W. Tsai, STAT, 18 Jan. 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