: lacking remembrance, memory, or mindful attention
2
: lacking active conscious knowledge or awareness—usually used with of or to
obliviouslyadverb
obliviousnessnoun
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How to Use Oblivious in a Sentence: does it go with 'of' or 'to'?
Oblivious usually has to do with not being conscious or aware of someone or something. When used with this meaning, it can be followed by either to or of:
The cat had crept in silently, and we were oblivious to its presence in the room.
There was no chance that anyone could be oblivious of the dog, though; it greeted everyone in the room with frisky leaps.
Oblivious can also have to do with forgetfulness, and when it's used this way, it is often followed by of (but not to):
The child had brought in a snake she'd discovered in the garden, oblivious of the promise she'd made to leave all found creatures outside.
Whatever meaning of oblivious you choose to use, the noun that correlates with this adjective is obliviousness:
Our obliviousness to the cat's presence in the room was quickly corrected by the dog's discovery of the cat under the chair.
The noun oblivion is related to both, of course, but it is not the noun form of oblivious.
They were pushing and shouting and oblivious to anyone not in their group. P. J. O'Rourke, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 1996Prentice looked up from his food, which he had been steadily shovelling in, completely oblivious of everyone. Antonya Nelson, New Yorker, 9 Nov. 1992Oblivious of any previous decisions not to stand together … , the three stood in a tight group … Doris Lessing, The Good Terrorist, 1985Father was oblivious to the man's speculative notice of his wife. E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, 1974She rested now, frankly and fairly, in the shelter of his arms, and both were oblivious to the gale that rushed past them in quicker and stronger blasts. Jack London, Burning Daylight, 1910 the out-of-state motorist claimed to be oblivious of the local speed limit, even though the signs must have been hard to miss See More
Recent Examples on the WebThe steps of the James A. Farley Post Office, a monumental limestone edifice across the street from the Garden, were an ocean of young people in platform shoes and dramatic eye makeup, oblivious to the more mundane happenings around them. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2022 Even after the Europeans started to defeat Ottoman and Mughal armies, Muslims remained mostly self-assured and oblivious to Christian criticism. Reuel Marc Gerecht, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2022 The king once again lacks a male heir, oblivious to his fierce dragonrider daughter, Rhaenyra's (Milly Alcock), potential as anything other than an ornament to the court. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 22 Aug. 2022 Like anywhere in Arizona, hikers probably walk by a few snakes on every trail, oblivious to their presence. Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 7 Aug. 2022 TikTok videos, uninvited and oblivious to anything going on around him. Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 16 July 2022 Specifically, leaders are somewhat oblivious to not only the low levels of well-being happening with their team members but also seem to be ignoring their own personal plight. Dan Pontefract, Forbes, 30 June 2022 Legend has it that Martin once flipped the clubhouse spread after a tough loss to the White Sox at old Comiskey Park, oblivious to a New York Yankees player sitting at the table munching on a sandwich. Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2022 Despite being weaned on delicious indigenous pastries -- from cannolo to Tiramisu, which also feature some kind of cheese -- Italians have come to adore American cheesecake, oblivious to its Roman origins. Silvia Marchetti, CNN, 24 May 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Latin oblīviōsus, from oblīvi-, base of oblīviōn-, oblīviō "state of forgetting, dismissal from the memory" + -ōsus-ous — more at oblivion