oblivion

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Anglo-Norman oblivion ( = (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French oblivion), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin oblīviō (“forgetfulness”), from oblivisci (“to forget”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈblɪvɪən/

• Audio (US):

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Noun

oblivion (usually uncountable, plural oblivions)

1. The state of forgetting completely, of being oblivious, unconscious, unaware, as when sleeping, drunk, or dead.

   He regularly drank himself into oblivion.

   Only the oblivion of sleep can heal the greatest traumas.

2. The state of being completely forgotten, of being reduced to a state of non-existence, extinction, or nothingness, incl. through war and destruction. (Figuratively) for an area like hell, a wasteland.

   Due to modern technology, many more people and much more information will not slip into oblivion, contrary to what happened throughout history until now.

   They tried to bomb them into oblivion.

   I will cast them into oblivion!

3. (obsolete) Amnesty.

Synonyms

• forgetness

Antonyms

• resurrection

Related terms

• oblivious

Translations

state of forgetfulness or distraction

• Arabic: نِسْيَان (nisyān)
• Catalan: oblit (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: zapomnění n
• Danish: glemsel c
• Dutch: vergeetachtigheid
• Finnish: hajamielisyys (fi), unohtelu (fi)
• French: oubli (fr) m
• Georgian: გულმავიწყობა (gulmavic̣q̇oba)
• German: Vergessen n
• Greek: λησμονιά (el) f (lismoniá), λήθη (el) f (líthi)

  Ancient: λήθη f (lḗthē)

• Hebrew: שִׁכְחָה (he) f (shikhkhá)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: feledés (hu)
• Ido: oblivieso (io)
• Interlingue:
• Italian: oblio (it) m
• Latin: oblīviō f
• Latvian: aizmirstība f, aizmirsība f
• Polish: nieświadomość (pl) f
• Portuguese: esquecimento (pt) m
• Russian: забытье́ (ru) n (zabytʹjé), забытьё (ru) n (zabytʹjó)
• Spanish: olvido (es) m
• Tachawit: itta (shy)
• Turkish: nisyan (tr), unutma (tr)
• Ukrainian: забуття n (zabuttja)
• Welsh: angof m

state of being completely forgotten

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: zapomnění n
• Danish: glemsel c
• Dutch: vergetelheid (nl) f
• Finnish: unhola (fi), unohdus (fi), unho (fi)
• French: oubli (fr) m
• German: Vergessenheit (de) f
• Greek: λήθη (el) f (líthi)
• Latin: oblīviō f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latvian: aizmirstība f
• Maori: korenga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: glemsel m

  Nynorsk: gløymsle f

• Polish: zapomnienie (pl) n, niepamięć (pl) f
• Portuguese: esquecimento (pt) m
• Russian: забве́ние (ru) n (zabvénije)
• Turkish: unutulma (tr)
• Welsh: ebargofiant m, angof, ebargofiant

state of permanent unconsciousness after death

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: olemattomuus (fi)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: ebargofiant

a state of nothingness

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: intethed
• Esperanto: abismo (eo)
• Finnish: olemattomuus (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: néant (fr) m
• Italian: oblio (it) m
• Maori: korenga
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: ebargofiant

figuratively: wasteland; a supernatural realm of waste, like hell

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: kadotus
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: néant (fr) m
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} نسيان (nisyaan), ^{(please verify)} سلوان (sulwaan)
• French: ^{(please verify)} oubli (fr)
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} feledés (hu)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} oblio (it)
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} Užmiršimas
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} zȁborāv (sh)/^{(please verify)} за̏бора̄в
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} olvido (es)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} glömska (sv)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} nisyan (tr), ^{(please verify)} unutulma (tr)

Verb

oblivion (third-person singular simple present oblivions, present participle oblivioning, simple past and past participle oblivioned)

1. (transitive) To consign to oblivion; to efface utterly.

Further reading

• “oblivion”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “oblivion”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “oblivion”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

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Old French

Noun

oblivion oblique singular, f (oblique plural oblivions, nominative singular oblivion, nominative plural oblivions)

1. forgetfulness

References

• oblivion on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub