Word of the Day

Sunday, August 05, 2001

oblivious

\uh-BLIV-ee-us\ , adjective;

Lacking all memory; forgetful.

Lacking active conscious awareness or knowledge; unmindful.

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Quotes:

Traveling to a strange, new landscape is a kind of romance. You become intensely aware of the world where you are, but also oblivious to the rest of the world at the same time.

-- Diane Ackerman, Deep Play

She has walked for a long time, oblivious of the wind, the sun burning her, the length of her journey.

-- Henry Bauchau, Oedipus on the Road translated by Anne-Marie Glasheen

Bill could be harshly self-critical, while Mac--though not oblivious of his mistakes--had no time for introspection.

-- Kai Bird, The Color of Truth

Origin:

Oblivious comes from Latin obliviosus, from oblivio, from oblivisci "to forget." A related word is oblivion, "the act of forgetting, or the state of being forgotten."