forgotten

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a noun

   No longer remembered, or no longer paid attention to.

   Grammar: Most often before a noun: a forgotten promise, a forgotten song.

   Patterns

   • long forgotten
   • all but forgotten

   She found a forgotten letter at the bottom of the drawer.

   The old song was almost forgotten by the 1990s.

   He felt like a forgotten man in the new office.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitive

   Past participle of forget: failed to remember something, or left something behind by mistake.

   Grammar: Used after have or has in perfect tenses: I have forgotten his name.

   Patterns

   • have forgotten something
   • have forgotten to do something

   I have forgotten my password again.

   She has forgotten to send the invitations.

   They had forgotten that the shop closes early on Sundays.

Common combinations

long forgotten

The treaty was long forgotten by then.

all but forgotten

The village is all but forgotten today.

forgotten about

I had completely forgotten about the meeting.

forgotten history

The museum tells a forgotten history of the city.

forgotten treasure

They found a forgotten treasure in the attic.

Synonyms and how they differ

overlooked

It suggests something was not noticed or given attention, rather than lost from memory.

neglected

It implies a lack of care over time, not just memory loss.

obscure

It means little known, not necessarily once known and then lost.

unremembered

It is rare and literary, and simply means not recalled.

Opposites

Word family

forget verb

to lose a memory of something

forgot verb

past tense of forget

forgetful adjective

often forgetting things

unforgettable adjective

impossible to forget

Commonly confused: forgotten or forgot?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “forgotten”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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