English Reference
verb · adjective · noun

forgotten

v. · adj. · n.
US /fɝˈɡɑtən/ UK /fəɡˈɒtən/ for·got·ten

  1. 01 A2 Elementary

    v.the form of 'forget' used with 'have' or 'has' to show you did not remember something.

    v.the past participle of the irregular verb 'forget', used to form the present perfect and past perfect tenses.

    Simple

    I have forgotten my password and cannot log into my account.

    In context

    By the time the meeting started, the manager had forgotten the specific concerns raised by the staff during the previous week's briefing.

    Usage

    Always used with an auxiliary verb like 'have', 'has', or 'had' in active voice.

    Pitfall
    I have forgot my keys. I have forgotten my keys.

    In standard modern English, 'forgotten' is the correct past participle form used after 'have' or 'has'.

  2. 02 B1 Intermediate

    adj.describes something that people no longer remember or think about.

    adj.describing an object, person, or fact that has slipped from public or private memory.

    Simple

    The explorers found a forgotten city deep in the jungle.

    In context

    The historian spent years researching forgotten documents in the national archives to reconstruct the lives of ordinary citizens during the war.

  3. 03 C1 Advanced LiteraryFormal

    n.people or things that society has stopped caring about or remembering.

    n.a collective noun referring to people or entities that have been marginalized or excluded from historical or social memory.

    Simple

    The charity works to provide food and shelter for the forgotten of the city.

    In context

    The monument was erected to honour the forgotten—those soldiers whose names were never recorded in the official casualty lists.

    Usage

    Usually appears as 'the forgotten'.

    the neglectedthe overlooked

Morphologically forgot + -en.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level A2 · Elementary
Frequency Common
Updated