1
as in ignorance
a state of being disregardful or unconscious of one's surroundings, concerns, or obligations
her general obliviousness often results in her walking into walls and other hard-to-miss objects
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unawareness
the state of being unaware or uninformed
obliviousness of a law is not an acceptable excuse for breaking it
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obliviousness
Gentleman thief Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven) circles the prize while Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) bungles the pursuit with sublime obliviousness.
—
Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025
There is a sort of beautiful obliviousness to Mann’s turn as Liz.
—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
There is total and telling obliviousness to his giant flat-screen television, tuned to the SEC Network and a women’s soccer match between Arkansas and … Notre Dame.
—Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
But the flip side of that obliviousness is a tremendous ambition and a sort of mad optimism.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025
The disgust stems both from that aura of obliviousness and from a retrospective knowledge that the sincerity of late-two-thousands indie music was quickly co-opted into a more commercial version of itself.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025
There is a sort of beautiful obliviousness to Mann’s turn as Liz.
—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
There is total and telling obliviousness to his giant flat-screen television, tuned to the SEC Network and a women’s soccer match between Arkansas and … Notre Dame.
—Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
But the flip side of that obliviousness is a tremendous ambition and a sort of mad optimism.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025
The disgust stems both from that aura of obliviousness and from a retrospective knowledge that the sincerity of late-two-thousands indie music was quickly co-opted into a more commercial version of itself.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obliviousness
Noun
-
Advertisement In many ways, Nebraska is an album reckoning with his father’s mental health struggles, heavy drinking, verbal abuse, and ignorance toward the family.—
Jake Kring-Schreifels,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
-
At what point does ignorance stop being an excuse?—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This assistance includes support for children with autism, blindness, deafness, emotional and developmental disabilities and students with orthopedic impairments.—
K. Ward Cummings,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The same blindness appeared yet again on October 7, 2023, when Israel, one of the world’s most advanced intelligence powers, ignored evidence of Hamas’s preparations for a deadly attack.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But some degree of forgetfulness is a normal part of life.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
19 Sep. 2025
-
According to her, his reaction wasn’t just forgetfulness but entitlement.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Back at the trailer that evening, the fire session feels better than ever, a vertiginous slide into oblivion.—
Rowan Jacobsen,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
-
And of course all these remembrances are motivated, finally, by a desire to save, to whatever extent possible, people and stories and the truth as the authors understand it from impending oblivion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obliviousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obliviousness. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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