Make Your Point > Archived Issues > OBLIVIOUS
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connect this word to others:
Someone oblivious is utterly forgetful or totally unaware, much like Hermione's parents are after she puts this spell on them:
Oblivious and obliviate come from the Latin word for "forget," oblitus.
Because this oblitus might mean, more literally, "smooth over," our word oblivious might belong to that whole family of words that imply lightness, lifting, smoothness, and ease, like
lever;
levitate;
relieve;
elevator;
_ll_y ("to calm, to soothe");
lev__y ("humor, lightness, playfulness");
_llev__te ("to ease, to lighten, to make less intense");
leg___ty ("lightness of touch, feeling, or movement");
and finally...
.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"OBLIVIOUS"
This word comes from a Latin one meaning "forget," which might literally mean "smooth over."
Oblivious people are totally unaware of what's happening around them.
Pronunciation:
uh BLIV ee us
Part of speech:
Adjective: "he's oblivious to her admiration," "she walks away, oblivious to the exploding building behind her."
Other forms:
Obliviously, obliviousness.
"Oblivion" means "a state of being completely forgotten," or "a state of complete nothingness."
And "to obliviate something" is to completely forget it, or to put it into a state of nothingness. (Here, we find a very fine line between "obliviating" and "obliterating.")
How to use it:
Even though the word "oblivious" is rooted in the idea of forgetting, we use it to describe people who don't even notice things in the first place--when they really, really should.
Oblivious people act as if they can't see or hear what's clearly visible and audible. They seem to live in their own minds rather than the real world, or they seem to ignore what's going on around them, often purposefully, and often stupidly.
Although you might talk about a person who's oblivious by nature or oblivious to everything, more often, you say that someone is oblivious to whatever is going on, specifically: "He carries on, oblivious to the damage he's causing." "She remains oblivious to the needs of those less fortunate."
So far we've seen that people can be oblivious to events, effects, and situations. We also tend to be oblivious to certain facts, causes, reasons, feelings, etc. If someone can observe it directly or figure it out rationally, then someone else can be oblivious to it.
Finally, although being oblivious is usually a bad thing, it can be good or neutral: "Oblivious to the jeers, he delivered an excellent show." "They focused solely on each other, oblivious to the notification beeps from their phones." "She persisted in her cause, oblivious to the threats and complaints from the establishment."
examples:
"Seemingly oblivious to what was going on outside of his home just a few feet away, the main character in a thriller film was completely unaware of the hundreds of reporters that had descended upon his front lawn until the very moment he opened the front door."
— The Onion, 20 August 2019
"I can see Hector sitting in the middle of the bed, waving my mom's phone/flashlight around like a strobe light. Lenny is organizing his undershirt drawer with an actual flashlight, completely oblivious to the disco dance party room that he's in."
— Ann Braden, The Benefits of Being an Octopus, 2018
has this page helped you understand "oblivious"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "oblivious" without saying "preoccupied" or "absentminded."
try it out:
In her book Internment, Samira Ahmed gets poetic, saying that the earth, the sun, and the moon are oblivious, unaware of the dire circumstances unfolding:
"The town where we disembark for internment is called Independence. I balk at the irony of the name. And at how sunny the day is. There should be dark clouds and storms. Permanent night. But the earth, the sun, and the moon keep on their course, utterly oblivious."
Get similarly poetic and talk about a time when something non-human seemed oblivious. I mean, non-human things are always oblivious, but when did their obliviousness seem cold, odd, or unjust? When, in the midst of distress or chaos, did an animal, a plant, a room, a house, a phone, a television, a vehicle, the weather, or any other non-person seem oblivious?
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month: Anagrams!
Rearrange the letters in the given word to form a word we've studied before. Try to recall its meaning, too.
For example, if I give you DYED, you give me EDDY. If I give you THREAD, you give me DEARTH. And if I give you COTERIES, you give me ESOTERIC.
Try this one today: OPENCAST.
Give yourself 5 points if you can figure out the word without clues. To reveal the clues, hover over the blue text below.
Give yourself 4 points if you figure it out after peeking at the part of speech: Noun.
Give yourself 3 points if you figure it out after peeking at the definition: any finishing touch or crowning achievement.
Give yourself 2 points if you figure it out after peeking at the first letter: C.
Give yourself 1 point if you figure it out after peeking at the first two letters: CA.
And if you'd like to reveal or review the word, click here.
review this word:
1. One opposite of OBLIVIOUS is
A. LIVID.
B. PERCEPTIVE.
C. SKYLARKING.
2. We read Animal Farm straight through, bored, oblivious to _____.
A. the very last chapter
B. even the most thinly veiled allegorical bits
C. the only part we found entertaining: when the dogs chase off Snowball
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Someone oblivious is utterly forgetful or totally unaware, much like Hermione's parents are after she puts this spell on them:
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
This word comes from a Latin one meaning "forget," which might literally mean "smooth over."
"Seemingly oblivious to what was going on outside of his home just a few feet away, the main character in a thriller film was completely unaware of the hundreds of reporters that had descended upon his front lawn until the very moment he opened the front door."
Explain the meaning of "oblivious" without saying "preoccupied" or "absentminded."
In her book Internment, Samira Ahmed gets poetic, saying that the earth, the sun, and the moon are oblivious, unaware of the dire circumstances unfolding:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. One opposite of OBLIVIOUS is
|