# forgotten

/fɝˈɡɑtən/ (US) · /fəɡˈɒtən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/forgotten
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. past participle of forget

verb · CEFR A2

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

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

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

### 2. not remembered

adjective · CEFR B1

describes something that people no longer remember or think about.

For teachers: describing an object, person, or fact that has slipped from public or private memory.

- The explorers found a forgotten city deep in the jungle.
- The historian spent years researching forgotten documents in the national archives to reconstruct the lives of ordinary citizens during the war.

### 3. people who are ignored

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary · Formal

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

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

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

## Examples

- I have forgotten my keys again.
- The password was written in an old notebook that had been forgotten in the attic for years.
- While the details of the contract have been forgotten by most of the staff, the legal department maintains a digital archive for compliance purposes.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.