Synonyms of forgetting

forgetting 1 of 3

adjective

as in forgetful

Related Words

• forgetful
• unaware
• oblivious
• bewildered
• clueless
• unmindful
• confused
• dazed
• muddled
• bemused
• scatterbrained
• heedless
• unfocused
• inattentive
• unconscious
• foggy
• unthinking
• hazy
• unknowing
• befuddled
• dreaming
• unwitting
• flighty
• absorbed
• daydreaming
• befogged
• unheeding
• intent
• preoccupied
• engrossed
• unwary
• unperceptive
• distracted
• vacant
• dreamy
• birdbrained
• absent
• pensive
• rapt
• absentminded
• insensible
• faraway
• abstracted

Dissimilar Words

• aware
• alert
• conscious
• engaged
• mindful
• alive
• wary
• observing
• attentive
• vigilant
• watchful
• observant
• sharp
• wide-awake
• heedful
• heads-up
• open-eyed
• clearheaded

forgetting

2 of 3

noun

as in ignoring

Related Words

• ignoring
• disregard
• neglect
• overlooking
• wrong
• misdemeanor
• misconduct
• nonobservance
• offense
• misfeasance
• sin
• infringement
• delinquency
• violation
• transgression
• contravention
• infraction
• misprision
• trespass
• invasion
• intrusion
• breach
• encroachment
• dereliction

Dissimilar Words

• observance
• respecting
• noninfringement
• upholding

forgetting

3 of 3

verb

present participle of forget

1

as in missing

to be unable to recall or think of

I forget exactly on which street that the house is

Synonyms & Similar Words

• missing
• losing
• unlearning
• disremembering
• ignoring
• blanking
• neglecting
• disregarding
• misremembering
• passing over
• slighting
• slurring (over)
• overlooking
• overpassing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• remembering
• recalling
• thinking (of)
• recollecting
• reminiscing (about)
• reminding
• harking back (to)
• minding
• flashing back (to)
• harkening back (to)
• hearkening back (to)

2

as in neglecting

to fail to give proper attention to

she promised not to forget her high school friends after she went off to college

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ignoring
• neglecting
• disregarding
• missing
• overlooking
• bypassing
• passing over
• slighting
• slurring (over)
• omitting
• rejecting
• failing
• overpassing
• disdaining
• brushing (aside or off)
• scorning
• sloughing (off)
• skimping
• shrugging off
• sluffing (off)
• pooh-poohing
• scanting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• regarding
• attending (to)
• tending (to)
• appreciating
• valuing
• remembering
• minding
• fostering
• heeding
• cultivating
• cherishing
• nurturing
• nursing
• treasuring
• watching
• listening (to)
• prizing
• following
• noticing
• noting
• marking
• observing
• remarking
• pampering

3

as in shirking

to leave undone or unattended to especially through carelessness

he forgot the pot boiling on the stove

Synonyms & Similar Words

• neglecting
• shirking
• slacking (off)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• remembering
• doing
• attending (to)
• performing
• carrying out
• executing
• achieving
• accomplishing
• maintaining
• keeping up

4

as in failing

to miss the opportunity or obligation

I forgot to call on his birthday

Synonyms & Similar Words

• failing
• neglecting
• omitting
• ignoring
• disregarding
• missing out on
• sliding
• skipping
• passing over
• pretermitting
• overlooking
• defaulting
• slipping
• slighting
• overpassing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• remembering
• keeping
• doing
• observing
• performing
• practicing
• carrying out
• executing
• heeding
• minding
• meeting
• fulfilling
• satisfying
• discharging
• complying (with)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of forgetting

Noun

Whereas the poem ends with order restored, the film leaves history caught in an endless cycle of collapse, rebirth and forgetting. — Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026

Rather than presenting memory as a complete record of the past, Fragments of Remembering explores the space between remembering and forgetting. — Photovogue, Vogue, 2 July 2026

Inside, boards blackened by smoke and sweat, the air sweet with cane and forgetting. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 19 May 2026

His quest to reclaim the power of writing becomes an inner journey between memory and forgetting, between a lost language and a new one, where human, emotion and meaning must be recreated anew. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026

For example, in learning contexts, adaptive forgetting, or the ability to let go of irrelevant information, can actually improve cognitive performance overall. — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026

This comes at a time of wider forgetting. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025

In an age of fast fading and faster forgetting, that message - stitched into every uneven hem - remains radical. — Maria Williams, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025

In this arrangement, even if one learner suffers from catastrophic forgetting, the cognitive radio can still function. — Sven Bilén, IEEE Spectrum, 23 July 2020

Verb

With just one year left on his contract and a 2025 season worth forgetting, a bounce-back will be big for him in 2026. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 July 2026

Despite forgetting his character’s name, Wilson remains a vital part of the Legally Blonde family. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 22 July 2026

But difficulty connecting and charging those tools, or even just forgetting to measure, significantly decreases the number of patients who adhere to the habit. — Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Consequences of Running Sprinklers for Too Long Of course, water flooding out of your lawn and onto the sidewalk, road, or driveway isn’t ideal, but a soggy lawn isn’t the only consequence of setting and forgetting your sprinkler. — The Spruce, 20 July 2026

Never forgetting your past, but also living in the present, and always striving to do more in the future. — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 16 July 2026

Shifting baseline syndrome puts a name on something that most of us have experienced—the ways in which the fog of forgetting veils experience. — Literary Hub, 15 July 2026

Blessed with a photographic memory, the 75-year-old Sullenberger — one of the nation’s most famous aviators since Charles Lindbergh — began periodically forgetting things. — Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026

Imagine tall trees across the lake, a calm breeze, children laughing in the distance, the scent of your old canvas tent – there’s no forgetting the sights, sounds, smells and feel of summer camp. — Seth T. Kannarr, Fortune, 13 July 2026