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forgetting 1 of 3

adjective

as in forgetful

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forgetting

2 of 3

noun

as in ignoring

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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

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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

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3
as in shirking
to leave undone or unattended to especially through carelessness he forgot the pot boiling on the stove

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4
as in failing
to miss the opportunity or obligation I forgot to call on his birthday

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of forgetting
Noun
His is a vocation to un-forgetting, to recording the memories of tomorrow’s yesterday. — Jason Parham, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Automatically Delete Unneeded Safety Data Build safety systems with deliberate forgetting. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026 But the situation in the country remains dire, and the collective forgetting of the United States’ longest war carries costs of its own. — Laurel Miller, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2026 While Platner and his men fought in Fallujah, a wave of public forgetting was already under way. — Jasper Craven, New Yorker, 24 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 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
Verb
Roman design studio Roselli Architetti was enlisted to restore it into one building without forgetting its history; the result is a striking design that blends ancient artifacts with retro midcentury flooring and contemporary furnishings. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026 And if Kansas sends him onto the field to attempt a kick, his best chance of succeeding will be forgetting all of it. — Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026 According to the Mayo Clinic, mild cognitive impairment can have symptoms like forgetting things more often, missing appointments, trouble following conversations or losing a train of thought. — Alexiah Syrai Olsen, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2026 By not forgetting the lessons of the last digital transformation. — Chris Burchett, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026 But forgetting that, there is the Atmos stuff which is already mentioned, which is sounding really good. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2026 The Clippers make this sound like a case of somebody forgetting to put a cover sheet on their TPS reports, but the document shows a systematic process that yielded four different counts of circumvention. — John Hollinger, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026 Gen, forgetting her swollen wrist, perks up at the thought of having a new person to ruin sheets with. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2026 Experts say that occasional, minor lapses—misplacing items, forgetting a word, or losing your train of thought—are a normal part of the aging process. — Danielle Zickl, HEALTH, 31 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forgetting
  1. forgetful
  2. ignoring
  3. missing
  4. neglecting
  5. failing
  6. unaware
  7. disregard
  8. losing
Adjective
  • However, his wife knew that her husband was a very forgetful man.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Indi Star plays Violet Angel, who grew up on a farm and recently suffered a head injury due to a fall on her dad’s tractor, which leads to some comically forgetful moments.
    — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 31 July 2026
Definition of forgetful
Noun
  • Strategic ignoring begins with recognizing that attention is not an unlimited asset, but a leadership resource.
    — Nick Leighton, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of ignoring
Verb
  • On Friday, state media said authorities in Hanoi found the body of a university student who had been missing since Thursday.
    — Aniruddha Ghosal, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Poole allegedly did not provide documentation to account for the missing cash, and investigators could not find records that showed the cash was ever collected by Brink’s or deposited directly into the school bank account.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of missing
Verb
  • Because client needs can fluctuate, shift your team’s focus toward the highest-value opportunities without neglecting either side.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • On May 5, Smith was charged with neglecting a child, domestic battery with the use of a dangerous weapon, pointing a firearm at someone during a domestic dispute along with another individual, and disorderedly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier.
    — Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of neglecting
Verb
  • The episode marked the latest instance of Congress trying and failing to advance AI legislation amid a growing debate over whether, if at all, to regulate the technology that industry leaders warn may pose doomsday threats to humanity.
    — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Charlie Kirk's family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative activist's assassination at a state university, in a wrongful death notice announced Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of failing
Adjective
  • Officials said the girls cross-country coaching staff and team members were unaware of Lincoln-Way students’ actions at the previous night’s football game.
    — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Eleanor, now sickly and desperate, clings to her husband completely unaware of his plans to leave her.
    — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of unaware
Noun
  • Gonzaba was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, causing bodily injury, hit-and-run involving death/injury, vehicle theft and felony evading a peace officer with disregard for safety, police said.
    — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • But Native Americans experienced slavery as stealing of relatives, as a community loss, and it was always intermingled with the stealing of their land and disregard for their sovereignty.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of disregard
Verb
  • Losing experienced educators means losing years of knowledge, relationships and expertise that cannot simply be replaced with another name on a classroom roster.
    — Roberto Fernandez III, Sun Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Otherwise, every losing party would have an incentive to scour deliberations for something improper.
    — Monu Bedi, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of losing

Browse Nearby Words

forgettable
forgetting
forgetting oneself
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Cite this Entry

“Forgetting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forgetting. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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