oblivious

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

Other Words from oblivious Synonyms & Antonyms How to Use Oblivious in a Sentence: does it go with 'of' or 'to'? Example Sentences Learn More about oblivious

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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):

The child had brought in a snake she'd discovered in the garden, oblivious of the promise she'd made to leave all found creatures outside.

Whatever meaning of oblivious you choose to use, the noun that correlates with this adjective is obliviousness:

Our obliviousness to the cat's presence in the room was quickly corrected by the dog's discovery of the cat under the chair.

The noun oblivion is related to both, of course, but it is not the noun form of oblivious.

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 on the Web

Unlike the rest of my sweaty body, my curls seemed oblivious to the balmy weather. — Devon Abelman, Allure, "Color Wow Dream Coat for Curls Humidity-Proofs Your Hair," 18 June 2018 Lovato, who is married to 42-year-old landlord Jane Hamilton, was oblivious to the havoc being wreaked in his name until strangers began messaging him online early last year. — Fox News, "Veteran claims his stolen Facebook photos were used to catfish 30 women during deployment," 9 June 2018 Armed with his movie camera, Hill was apparently oblivious to the White House rules and pushed in behind a group of news cameramen to film FDR slowly walking along the mansion’s portico. — James Rogers, Fox News, "Newly-discovered footage offers rare glimpse of FDR walking at the White House," 28 June 2018 That really only leaves one explanation: Kinder was astonishingly oblivious to his own privilege. — Kate Siber, Outside Online, "What We Can Learn from Climbing's Bullying Saga," 15 May 2018 There’s also a subplot about a younger couple Miles (Harry Treadaway) and Sunny (Amanda Seyfried) who travel from LA to Mexico to steal one of these weed pills (Sunny is of course oblivious). — Washington Post, "Film Review: A good cast can’t save contrived ‘Gringo’," 8 Mar. 2018 The movie cuts directly from Paris to a thatched hut in Tahiti where Gauguin is furiously painting, oblivious to the torrential downpour outside. — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti' chronicles Gauguin’s desire to see a new way," 13 July 2018 That misunderstanding is at least somewhat understandable given the fact that many of the president’s foes seem oblivious themselves. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "Ham sandwiches, yes; presidents, no," 17 May 2018 Instead, James could only watch as his historic efforts fell away with every one of Smith's oblivious dribbles. — Rob Mahoney, SI.com, "LeBron James Made the Right Play And It Cost the Cavs Game 1," 1 June 2018

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.