oblivious

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adjective obliv·i·ous \ə-ˈbli-vē-əs\

Definition of oblivious

1 : lacking remembrance, memory, or mindful attention
2 : lacking active conscious knowledge or awareness —usually used with of or to

obliviously

adverb

obliviousness

noun

See oblivious defined for English-language learners

See oblivious defined for kids

Examples of oblivious in a Sentence

They were pushing and shouting and oblivious to anyone not in their group. —P. J. O'Rourke, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 1996
Prentice looked up from his food, which he had been steadily shovelling in, completely oblivious of everyone. —Antonya Nelson, New Yorker, 9 Nov. 1992
Oblivious of any previous decisions not to stand together … , the three stood in a tight group … —Doris Lessing, The Good Terrorist, 1985
Father was oblivious to the man's speculative notice of his wife. —E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, 1974
She rested now, frankly and fairly, in the shelter of his arms, and both were oblivious to the gale that rushed past them in quicker and stronger blasts. —Jack London, Burning Daylight, 1910
the out-of-state motorist claimed to be oblivious of the local speed limit, even though the signs must have been hard to miss

Recent Examples of oblivious from the Web

Ur a talented guy,but seem to be completely oblivious to what is coming out of ur mouth.

— anna silman, The Cut, "People Are Mad at Andrew Garfield for Saying He Is Gay ‘Just Without the Physical Act’", 6 July 2017
Ur a talented guy,but seem to be completely oblivious to what is coming out of ur mouth.

— troy l. smith, cleveland.com, "Andrew Garfield says he might have gay 'awakening' later in life", 6 July 2017
All the while, Bill is oblivious to the fact the Time Lord is still alive, albeit fatally wounded.

— kelly fiveash, Ars Technica, "Doctor Who review: Time tumbles out of control in The Doctor Falls", 3 July 2017
Tired of Gru’s identity crisis and craving the comforts of old-fashioned villainy, the Minions resign in protest and spend much of the movie off by themselves, utterly oblivious to their former master and his latest round of imbecilic misadventures.

— justin chang, latimes.com, "'Despicable Me 3' is so bad it's almost unendurable", 29 June 2017
Drunk and oblivious, Gill had veered her silver Chevrolet Lumina into the Mustang's lane.

— robert rhoden, NOLA.com, "'She saved my life': DWI driver and crash victim find peace and a new purpose in life", 25 June 2017
Americans are sometimes oblivious to the everyday sacrifices made by the families of those sworn to defend our country.

— diane bell, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Navy corpsman's house is empty no more thanks to kindness of strangers", 23 June 2017
Somehow, the car had come loose, its emergency brake off, and was rolling free toward the oblivious throng of men, women and children.

— eric adler, kansascity.com, "Story of ‘wild car’ accident at KC golf course ends in two funerals — 58 years later", 14 June 2017
In its first few years of existence, Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black evolved from a dramedy about an oblivious white woman enduring prison to a deft and richly textured portrait of injustice in America.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "Orange Is the New Black Gambles Big", 9 June 2017

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

How to Use Oblivious in a Sentence: does it go with 'of' or 'to'?

Oblivious usually has to do with not being conscious or aware of someone or something. When used with this meaning, it can be followed by either to or of:

The cat had crept in silently, and we were oblivious to its presence in the room.

There was no chance that anyone could be oblivious of the dog, though; it greeted everyone in the room with frisky leaps.

Oblivious can also have to do with forgetfulness, and when it's used this way, it is often followed by of (but not to):