oblivious

Intermediatezipf 3.31

Pronunciation

/əˈblɪviəs/(uh-BLIV-ee-us)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

未察觉的；毫无意识的；浑然不知的

Definition

Not aware of or not concerned about what is happening around you.

Word family

  • oblivion/əˈblɪviən/(n)遗忘
  • obliviously/əˈblɪviəsli/(adv)不知不觉地

Collocations

  • oblivious to danger
  • completely oblivious
  • oblivious to surroundings
  • blissfully oblivious

Examples

  1. 1.She was oblivious to the chaos happening around her. (unaware)
  2. 2.He walked right past me, completely oblivious. (didn't notice)

Synonyms

  • unaware/ˌʌnəˈwɛə/— not knowing, neutral
  • ignorant/ˈɪɡnərənt/— lacking knowledge, can be offensive
  • heedless/ˈhiːdləs/— not paying attention, careless

Etymology

from Latin "obliviosus" = forgetful — "oblivio" = forgetfulness