oblivion

noun obliv·i·on \ ə-ˈbli-vē-ən , ō- , ä- \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of oblivion

1 : the fact or condition of not remembering : a state marked by lack of awareness or consciousness

seeking the oblivion of sleep

drank herself into oblivion

2 : the condition or state of being forgotten or unknown

contentedly accepted his political oblivion

… took the Huskers from oblivion to glory — and their two national championships …
—D. S. Looney

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Examples of oblivion in a Sentence

The technology is destined for oblivion.
The names of the people who lived here long ago have faded into oblivion.
His theories have faded into scientific oblivion.
Her work was rescued from oblivion when it was rediscovered in the early 1900s.
After being awake for three days straight, he longed for the oblivion of sleep.
She drank herself into oblivion.
The little village was bulldozed into oblivion to make way for the airport.

Recent Examples of oblivion from the Web

Last year experts said large sections of the reef were essentially dead, bleached into oblivion.

— amanda campanaro /, NBC News, "Can this ultra-thin 'sunscreen' save the world's largest coral reef?," 5 Apr. 2018
Bowhead whales, hunted almost into oblivion centuries ago, can exceed 60 feet in length.

— will dunham, Anchorage Daily News, "Arctic jazz: Bowhead whales have an amazingly diverse songbook," 4 Apr. 2018
Despite watching the relationship wither into oblivion, Abel refuses to chuck deuces to his loved one.

— carl lamarre, Billboard, "The Weeknd's 'My Dear Melancholy' EP: 5 Things That Jump Out on First Listen," 30 Mar. 2018
If a private firm had such shoddy employee oversight, it’d be sued into oblivion.

— kimberley a. strassel, WSJ, "The Scandal That Matters," 3 Aug. 2017
The act had its heyday in 2010 and as all things do, eventually fizzled into oblivion.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "White House Staffers Reportedly ‘Iced’ Each Other," 30 Mar. 2018
But our patty was completely unseasoned, and the whole-wheat bun was squished to oblivion over a thick wedge of tasteless pink (albeit sustainably grown) tomato.

— craig laban, Philly.com, "Founding Farmers and the woke chain awakening of King of Prussia," 29 Mar. 2018
The site has bedeviled successive Charlotte City Councils for years, ever since Eastland began its precipitous plunge into oblivion starting in the mid-2000s.

— ely portillo and steve harrison, charlotteobserver, "One of these plans could save the old Eastland Mall site, as the city tries new ideas | Charlotte Observer," 26 Mar. 2018
But these panels sometimes are used to slow-walk thorny policy into oblivion.

— Washington Post, "Blue-ribbon commissions often where touchy issues go to die," 13 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'oblivion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Oblivion was derived via Middle English and Anglo-French from Latin oblivisci, which means "to forget." This form may have stemmed from combining ob- ("in the way") and levis ("smooth"). In the past, oblivion has been used in reference to the River Lethe, which according to Greek myth flowed through the Underworld and induced a state of forgetfulness in anyone who drank its water. Among those who have used the word this way is the poet John Milton, who wrote in Paradise Lost, "Farr off from these a slow and silent stream, Lethe the River of Oblivion roules Her watrie Labyrinth."

Origin and Etymology of oblivion

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin oblivion-, oblivio, from oblivisci to forget, perhaps from ob- in the way + levis smooth — more at ob-, levigate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

oblivion Synonyms

Synonyms

forgetfulness, nirvana, obliviousness;

Near Antonyms

memory, recall, recollection, remembrance;

alertness, awareness, cognizance, consciousness;

absentmindedness, absorption, abstraction, inattention, inattentiveness, preoccupation;

OBLIVION Defined for English Language Learners

oblivion

noun

Definition of oblivion for English Language Learners

: the state of something that is not remembered, used, or thought about any more
: the state of being unconscious or unaware : the state of not knowing what is going on around you
: the state of being destroyed