Meaning & use
forgetful
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Often failing to remember things such as names, plans or where you put objects.
Grammar: Describes a general habit: she is forgetful, not she was forgetful once.
Patterns
- forgetful about something
My grandfather has become forgetful about names.
I am so forgetful that I wrote the date on my hand.
A forgetful driver left the keys in the car.
adjectiveafter a verbliteraryformal
Paying no attention to something, as if it has slipped from your mind, especially followed by of.
Grammar: Often followed by of and is literary: forgetful of danger.
Patterns
- forgetful of something
He walked on, forgetful of the cold.
The children played, forgetful of the time.
She spoke bravely, forgetful of her own fears.
Word forms
| comparative | more forgetful |
|---|---|
| superlative | most forgetful |
Common combinations
- become forgetful
- He became forgetful as he grew older.
- a little forgetful
- I'm a little forgetful on Monday mornings.
- forgetful of
- She was forgetful of her promise.
- absent-minded and forgetful
- The professor was absent-minded and forgetful.
- forgetful about
- He is forgetful about appointments.
Synonyms and how they differ
- absent-minded
- Absent-minded means lost in thought and unaware of your surroundings, while forgetful is about not remembering.
- scatterbrained
- Scatterbrained is informal and suggests general disorganization as well as forgetting.
- oblivious
- Oblivious means unaware of something around you, not poor at remembering.
Opposites
Word family
- forget verb
- to fail to remember
- forgetfulness noun
- the habit of forgetting
- forgettable adjective
- easy to forget
- unforgettable adjective
- impossible to forget
Commonly confused: forgetful or forgotten?
forgetful vs forgotten
Forgotten is the past participle of forget and describes something no longer remembered; forgetful describes a person who forgets often.
Practice
My uncle is quite ______; he often loses his glasses and misses appointments.
Choose one answer.
Forgetful describes a person who tends to forget things. Forgettable describes something easy to forget, not a person's habit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “forgetful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.