as in forgetful
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Dissimilar Words
as in ignoring
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in shirking
to leave undone or unattended to especially through carelessness
he forgot the pot boiling on the stove
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in failing
to miss the opportunity or obligation
I forgot to call on his birthday
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forgetting
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
Brayden Garcia
may 11, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 May 2026
People may be noticing quakes that seem to fit this pattern and forgetting about the ones that don’t, Cal Poly Pomona said.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 11 May 2026
Or turning the water on but forgetting to turn it off.
—Janet W. Lee, NPR, 7 May 2026
An exhilarating journey through 70 years of images and sounds from Lebanon, exploring Beirut’s collective psyche—marked by beauty, trauma, joy, and forgetting.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 6 May 2026
In reality, forgetting is functional.
—Gabrielle Principe, The Conversation, 5 May 2026
The bank wants her descendants to stop forgetting it.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
Kudrow, who starred as the free-spirited Phoebe Buffay, said the writers reprimanded the cast for forgetting lines and spent their off-hours fantasizing about her female co-stars.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026
The real danger is forgetting why people cared in the first place.
—Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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
The fiction in the book doesn’t come from him making things up, but simply because there are gaps in information from people passing away or simply forgetting details over the past two decades.
—Brayden Garcia
may 11, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 May 2026
People may be noticing quakes that seem to fit this pattern and forgetting about the ones that don’t, Cal Poly Pomona said.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 11 May 2026
Or turning the water on but forgetting to turn it off.
—Janet W. Lee, NPR, 7 May 2026
An exhilarating journey through 70 years of images and sounds from Lebanon, exploring Beirut’s collective psyche—marked by beauty, trauma, joy, and forgetting.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 6 May 2026
In reality, forgetting is functional.
—Gabrielle Principe, The Conversation, 5 May 2026
The bank wants her descendants to stop forgetting it.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
Kudrow, who starred as the free-spirited Phoebe Buffay, said the writers reprimanded the cast for forgetting lines and spent their off-hours fantasizing about her female co-stars.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026
The real danger is forgetting why people cared in the first place.
—Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forgetting
Adjective
-
The victim's son had said that his friends and neighbors in Alaska, where the victim was living prior to moving back to Pittsburgh, described him as forgetful and were concerned about his mental state.—
Patrick Damp,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
-
What also follows is a useless debate over the cultural impact of the movie amid concerns that the film is a little loose with the truth or outright forgetful about key moments of Jackson’s complex and complicated life.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Addressing Modern Behavior Patterns Verification tools such as these address behavior patterns such as preemptive ignoring, digital curiosity, and selective responsiveness, all of which have become more common in recent years.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Is an important event missing from this date?—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2026
-
You could be forgiven for missing the name.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
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And neglecting to clean the washing machine gasket — that rubber seal around a front-loader’s door — allows moisture and residue to collect, leading to mold and unpleasant smells that transfer right back onto clean laundry.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Kansas City Star,
11 May 2026
-
She is currently wanted after neglecting to show up for her first trial appearance in March, according to the Springfield outlet.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
9 May 2026
Verb
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The president pressed Nigeria last fall to take more action against terrorism, accusing the country of failing to deal with rampant violence against Christians.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
-
Their father, Nahuel (Amién), flits from one romantic affair to another, failing to recognize his shortcomings the way fathers typically forget minor yet significant details, like mistaking his younger daughter’s shoe size or never delivering on his promise to have the sink fixed.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
However, people are still obliviously unaware of this.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
Trump himself appears to be unaware of Drake and the rapper’s ordeal over the past few years, including his beef with Kendrick Lamar.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
15 May 2026
Noun
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The comments underscored what prosecutors described as a complete disregard for human life, the outlet reported.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
Under current Kansas law, reckless driving is defined as operating a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
8 May 2026
Verb
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The rest of the production had been much harder—particularly because, to his frustration, he’d been forced to film primarily in Atlanta rather than in Oakland, after a year of maddening delays led to the production losing its California tax rebate.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
-
The Wolves were wiped out by the Spurs in the second round, losing Game 6 by 30 points on Friday night.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forgetting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forgetting. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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