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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 And don’t forget the dress timeline. —Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 11 Feb. 2026 Also, don’t forget to throw a couple of other, younger potential free agent options in the mix in Devin Bush and Quay Walker. —Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026 Be nice about it, of course, but don’t forget that you’re allowed to set boundaries. —Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 10 Feb. 2026 The film is largely forgotten today, a minor effort awkwardly lodged between the grit of New Hollywood, on one side, and the schlocky flash-bang blockbusters of the eighties, on the other. —Alexander Nazaryan, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 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
  • Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Before playing in the last four games, Reaves had missed the previous 19 with his calf injury.
    — Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Definition of miss
Verb
  • Still, even inside the awards-season bubble, the turmoil surrounding the movie business, the country and the world beyond it was hard to ignore.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
  • They're exhausted by the constant airing of grievances having little to do with what's actually going on in the country, and by the broad generalizations about, well, everything, that ignore context, nuance and facts to promote a political viewpoint.
    — Brenda Looper, Arkansas Online, 11 Feb. 2026
Definition of ignore
Verb
  • The Olay Super Eye Serum aims to brighten dark circles and firm the fragile under-eye area that can often be neglected, but which deserves daily TLC.
    — Claire West, InStyle, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The land beneath the pool had been neglected and overgrown.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of neglect
Verb
  • That shutdown ended with a promise to vote on extending the subsidies, which failed.
    — Riley Beggin, Arkansas Online, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Previous versions of the bill failed to gain traction in both chambers last year.
    — Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 14 Feb. 2026
Definition of fail
Verb
  • There’s no way to replace all that was lost in less than two weeks, but Smook has been heartened by the support.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
  • That is the case in this Tuesday night matchup, as the Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back after losing to the league-best Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-110, on Monday night in Los Angeles.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026
Definition of lose
Verb
  • One Facebook friend of Bill’s previously questioned why his name was omitted as a spouse in the obituary.
    — Sarah Jones, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
  • Top players omitted from the list were not nominated.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Feb. 2026
Definition of omit

Phrases Containing forget

Browse Nearby Words

forges
forget
forgetful
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Forget.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forget. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on forget

Nglish: Translation of forget for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

'Buck naked' or 'butt naked'?

What does 'etcetera' mean?

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What’s the difference between ‘cemetery’ and ‘graveyard’?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Did Orange the Fruit or the Color Come First?

Why Is the Letter ‘Z’ Associated With Sleeping?

The Words of the Week - Feb. 13

Why do we call it 'ides of March'?
See More

Popular

See More

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Did Orange the Fruit or the Color Come First?
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
burrowing owl athene cunicularia tilts its head outside its burrow on marco island florida
Guess the Curious Origins of These Everyday Words Oh, that’s where that comes from…
See All