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

Backstabbing, scheming, secret children showing up to cause trouble, brainwashing, amnesia, terrorist massacres at weddings, and shoulder pads… so, so many shoulder pads. — Maggie Fremont, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Aug. 2026

Memory loss associated with ECT treatment can include retrograde amnesia, in which the patient forgets events in the weeks or months – sometimes, though rarely, even the years – prior to treatment. — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026

When Tae-ha starts a fire that erupts into an explosion, a horrified Eun-sae begins to remember her life before amnesia. — Kayti Burt, Time, 7 Aug. 2026

Over the movie’s opening weekend in theaters, however, audiences showed no such amnesia. — Chris Lee, Vulture, 3 Aug. 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