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amnesia

n. C / U
B2 Upper Intermediate US //æmˈniʒə// UK //æmnˈiːziə// am·ne·sia Slang

n. a loss of memory, often caused by an injury or illness. You use this word when someone cannot remember things they used to know.

n. a partial or total loss of the ability to recall past experiences or information. Typically uncountable in clinical contexts; countable when referring to specific types or episodes.


SIMPLE

He has amnesia from the car accident.

CONTEXTUAL

After the surgery, she suffered from temporary amnesia and could not recall the previous week.

COMPLEX

The protagonist's selective amnesia serves as a narrative device, obscuring the truth until the final chapter reveals his repressed memories.

Synonyms
Origin

From modified Latin amnesia, from Ancient Greek ἀμνησία (amnēsía, “forgetfulness”), a noun derivation from μιμνήσκω (mimnḗskō, “to remind, to remember”) prefixed with the alpha privative.

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