forget

verb

fər-ˈget How to pronounce forget (audio)
Definition of forgetnext
1
as in to miss
to be unable to recall or think of I forget exactly on which street that the house is

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to ignore
to fail to give proper attention to she promised not to forget her high school friends after she went off to college

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to neglect
to leave undone or unattended to especially through carelessness he forgot the pot boiling on the stove

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4
as in to fail
to miss the opportunity or obligation I forgot to call on his birthday

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word forget distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of forget are disregard, ignore, neglect, overlook, and slight. While all these words mean "to pass over without giving due attention," forget may suggest either a willful ignoring or a failure to impress something on one's mind.

forget what others say

When can disregard be used instead of forget?

While in some cases nearly identical to forget, disregard suggests voluntary inattention.

disregarded the wishes of his family

When could ignore be used to replace forget?

The words ignore and forget can be used in similar contexts, but ignore implies a failure to regard something obvious.

ignored the snide remark

When might neglect be a better fit than forget?

In some situations, the words neglect and forget are roughly equivalent. However, neglect implies giving insufficient attention to something that merits one's attention.

habitually neglected his studies

When would overlook be a good substitute for forget?

Although the words overlook and forget have much in common, overlook suggests disregarding or ignoring through haste or lack of care.

in my rush I overlooked a key example

Where would slight be a reasonable alternative to forget?

The synonyms slight and forget are sometimes interchangeable, but slight implies contemptuous or disdainful disregarding or omitting.

slighted several major authors in her survey

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of forget The 2025 season was one to forget for the Chiefs because of how things unfolded on the field in their 6-11 season. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2026 And don’t forget to sign up for the First Opinion newsletter, delivered every Sunday. —Torie Bosch, STAT, 20 May 2026 The construction work coexists with hundreds of posters promoting the soccer tournament, as well as large-scale figures of soccer balls and trophies, which help passengers forget the inconveniences caused by renovations that have dragged on for a year. —ABC News, 20 May 2026 The former boss had forgotten it entirely. —Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 19 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for forget
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forget
  1. miss
  2. ignore
  3. neglect
  4. fail
  5. lose
  6. omit
Verb
  • Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
    — Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 20 May 2026
  • Two missing California children were recovered in Mexico nearly two years after their father allegedly fled with them following their mother’s killing, authorities said.
    — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 20 May 2026
Definition of miss
Verb
  • Washington continued to ignore them in the recent campaign.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
  • Even the wokest of the wokes are ignoring poor Megan.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
Definition of ignore
Verb
  • When Djena neglected to do a chore, Denise would use a belt or a power cord to whip Djena, leaving her covered in bruises.
    — Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
  • What this narrative neglects are all the ways treatment might cause terrible side effects, or the long period one spends being sick, and how one’s identity may have changed in the interim.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
Definition of neglect
Verb
  • In early 2022, after the state failed to pass a ban on such care for minors, Paxton wrote a legal opinion declaring transition care for minors to be child abuse.
    — Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 16 May 2026
  • The city filed a lawsuit saying the federal government failed to perform required reviews of how the project would affect the health and safety of residents and the environment.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 15 May 2026
Definition of fail
Verb
  • But unlike adults, once a baby has lost this capacity, simply listening to music featuring that pattern over the course of a week or two is enough to bring it back.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
  • Russia, which faces hefty international sanctions, has lost vital markets for its oil and gas exports, most notably in Europe, and has become increasingly reliant on India and China as buyers of its energy exports.
    — Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 19 May 2026
Definition of lose
Verb
  • The story also includes a fan-favorite character omitted from the previous films, Tom Bombadil.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 14 May 2026
  • When the constitution was revised in 1971, that requirement was omitted.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 13 May 2026
Definition of omit

Phrases Containing forget

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forges
forget
forgetful
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Cite this Entry

“Forget.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forget. Accessed 21 May. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on forget

Nglish: Translation of forget for Spanish Speakers

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