The word for forgetting something

Is there a word (or short phrase) that describes the sinking feeling that one is forgetting something, but but doesn’t know what the «something» is?

For example, I’m looking for a word that describes the following feeling: Leaving to go on holiday, and two hours into your journey you feel sure you have left something important at home but just can’t think what it is.

asked Feb 17, 2015 at 7:18

zashu's user avatar

zashuzashu

1631 gold badge1 silver badge5 bronze badges

5

Would a «nagging feeling» or «lingering doubt» suit your purpose?

answered Mar 19, 2015 at 16:12

DroidClicketyClacker's user avatar

If it fits your need, you can go for disremember.

Or even the phrase fail to recall might work great depending on your context.

answered Feb 17, 2015 at 9:00

nimsrules's user avatar

Probably a feeling of annoyance:

  • the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed

or a sense of temporary frustration:

  • a feeling of dissatisfaction resulting from unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems.

Access to information is now founded on «random axes», like the Wikipedia site. We’re all quite familiar with the sense of frustration we feel when we look for something that won’t come to mind, and the sense of relief ensured by search engines …

(TFD)

answered Feb 17, 2015 at 7:54

1

It happens to me every single time I go somewhere or I leave, I have this crushing feeling in my chest that I have forgot something really important, even if I check the place I still have it.I made a research and I found a little connection with HYPER VIGILANCE…

answered Dec 25, 2015 at 22:39

Allison's user avatar

2

Sometimes one speaks of a senior moment, as defined here

a temporary mental lapse (humorously attributed to the gradual loss of
one’s mental faculties as one grows older).

Example: «Oops, I think I forgot to lock the back door. Senior moment!»

Or, more to the OP: «I know I forgot something. My slippers? the Swiss army knife? My hair dryer? Too many senior moments lately!»

This phrase does not yet need a euphemism, but better not to use in the company of someone who really does have dementia, or their caregiver.

answered Dec 25, 2015 at 23:50

ab2's user avatar

ab2ab2

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Asked by: Ms. Karina Armstrong II

Score: 5/5
(6 votes)

One who forgets, fails to remember something.

Is perfecter a word?

Comparative form of perfect: more perfect. A person who perfects something.

Is Postmortemly a word?

Occurring or done after death: posthumous.

What is a word for not remembering?

To fail to remember, or to discard from one’s memory. forget. disremember. misrecollect. obliviate.

What is the word for forgetting things?

forgetful Add to list Share. To be forgetful is to be absentminded. When you’re forgetful, things tend to slip your mind. People can be forgetful if they really can’t remember things, or if they’re just not paying attention. When you’re forgetful, you forget all kinds of things!

40 related questions found

What means let slip?

: to say (something that one did not want to say) by mistake He let slip that he’s looking for a better job. Don’t let it slip that we hadn’t planned on inviting her.

What does Obliviate mean?

Filters. To forget, to wipe from existence.

What is it called when something is on the tip of your tongue?

It is known as lethologica or the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. …

What is the tip of the tongue?

Tip of the tongue (also known as TOT or lethologica) is the phenomenon of failing to retrieve a word or term from memory, combined with partial recall and the feeling that retrieval is imminent.

Why can’t I recall words?

Anomic aphasia (also known as dysnomia, nominal aphasia, and amnesic aphasia) is a mild, fluent type of aphasia where individuals have word retrieval failures and cannot express the words they want to say (particularly nouns and verbs). Anomia is a deficit of expressive language.

What word means happening after death?

Posthumously is an adverb that helps describe something that happens to a person after they die, whether it happens to their estate, their life’s work, or the memory of them that remains.

Who is doing postmortem?

Who performs the post mortem examination? Post mortem examinations are carried out by doctors specialized and trained in the field of forensic medicine. The doctor may be assisted by a technician who is specially trained for this purpose.

What is a perfecter?

Definitions of perfecter. a skilled worker who perfects something. “although not the inventor he must be recognized as the perfecter of this technique” type of: skilled worker, skilled workman, trained worker. a worker who has acquired special skills.

What is the Bengali of perfect?

prep. perfect /verb/ নিখুঁত করা NEW.

What is the difference between imperfect and Unperfect?

As adjectives the difference between imperfect and unperfect

is that imperfect is not perfect while unperfect is imperfect.

Is the tongue connected to the brain?

A little-known fact: the tongue is directly connected to the brain stem. … The tongue has extensive motor and sensory integration with the brain, Danilov explains. The nerves on the tip of the tongue are directly connected to the brain stem, a crucial hub that directs basic bodily processes.

Why is my tongue numb?

Tongue numbness is most commonly caused by an allergic reaction from eating certain foods or chemicals, low calcium levels which is also known as hypocalcemia, a bacterial infection like Lymes disease, or a condition involving the nervous system. Read below for more causes and treatment options for a numb tongue.

Is it normal to not be able to think of a word?

Tip-of-the-tongue states, as they’re known in psychology, are common and natural. Abrams holds up a pen. “If you forget what this is called, that’s a problem. But if you can’t come up with words like ‘abacus’ or ‘marsupial’ that’s completely normal,” she says.

Why do we forget words we know?

It’s believed that the brain has activated the meaning of the word, but not the sound; like it’s short circuited, and skipped the phonological level. As a result, you have the idea in your head, and a sense of knowing it, but your brain just cannot activate the corresponding word sound.

Why do I forget words when speaking?

Aphasia is a communication disorder that makes it hard to use words. It can affect your speech, writing, and ability to understand language. Aphasia results from damage or injury to language parts of the brain. It’s more common in older adults, particularly those who have had a stroke.

How do I stop forgetting words?

5 Ways To Avoid Forgetting Words When You’re Telling A Story!

  1. DON’T panic! It’s not the end of the world! …
  2. Stall or buy time. …
  3. PRACTICE the story ALONE before you tell it to someone. …
  4. DESCRIBE the WORD that you are looking for with SIMPLER WORDS. …
  5. Save the story for later.

What does the Harry Potter spell Obliviate mean?

The Memory Charm (Obliviate), also known as the Forgetfulness Charm, was a charm that could be used to erase specific memories from an individual’s mind.

How do you use Obliviate?

The characterizations, for all their clarity, obliviate the need for characters, and obliviate the need to write stories with characters. The only consolation, we may feel, was that a portion of the money that war yielded was used to obliviate the penury of wretched almsmen.

Why did Hermione put a spell on her parents?

In the movies, Hermione cast the spell “Obliviate” on her parents, making them forget they ever had a daughter. Since they were muggles, she wanted to keep them safe from Voldemort’s influence. “Obliviate” is permanent, so the tragedy is horrific.

Other forms: forgotten; forgot; forgetting; forgets

When you forget something, you can’t recall or remember it. An actor who forgets his lines might need some helpful cues from the other actors on stage.

You might forget on online password, or forget to return your library books. You can also deliberately forget something: «I’ve decided to forget about becoming rich and famous and focus on what I like to do.» When you accidentally leave something behind, like your umbrella, you also forget it. The Old English root of forget is forgietan, «fail to remember or neglect inadvertently.»

Definitions of forget

  1. verb

    dismiss from the mind; stop remembering

  2. verb

    be unable to remember

  3. verb

    forget to do something

    “Don’t
    forget to call the chairman of the board to the meeting!”

  4. verb

    leave behind unintentionally

    “I
    forgot my umbrella in the restaurant”

    synonyms:

    leave

    leave

    go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or forgetfulness

DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘forget’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback

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7 Useful Phrases to Say When You Forget Something | EnglishTeacherMelanie.com

In this lesson, you’ll learn 7 English phrases that you can use in conversation to explain that you forget something.

We all forget things. It happens to everyone. It can be embarrassing sometimes. Let’s quickly review the basic ways to say you forget something:

I forget.
I can’t remember.
I don’t remember.

I’m sorry I wasn’t at the meeting. I forgot about it.

We forget things in different ways, and in English there are different phrases you can use to communicate that you forget something.

1. “I lost my train of thought.”

lose your train of thought
= forget what you were thinking, right in the middle of thinking about it

A “train of thought” = a connected series of thoughts or ideas in your head

You’re telling someone a story or about an idea you had, but you get distracted, or you are interrupted by something, and you forget what you were talking about.

What was I saying? I lost my train of thought.

I was in the middle of telling a story, but the phone rang and I lost my train of thought.

2. “It slipped my mind.”

slip one’s mind
= forget something

I can’t believe I forgot her birthday. It completely slipped my mind!

We had a meeting at 1pm today. Did it slip your mind?

He forgot to get some milk at the grocery store. I guess it just slipped his mind.

Pronunciation note: Remember, the -ed at the of slipped is pronounced /t/. The -ed is not pronounced as a separate syllable.
 

3. “It’s on the tip of my tongue!”

be on the tip of one’s tongue

You know that you know something, but you can’t remember it at that moment!

I know this! I know this! It’s on the tip of my tongue! His name is … oh, I can’t remember!

Wait. Don’t tell me. I know this song. The name is on the tip of my tongue!

 
Learn more: 5 Useful English Phrases to Say When You are Late

4. “It doesn’t ring a bell.”

ring a bell
= something is familiar, but you can’t completely remember it

His name rings a bell, but I can’t remember what he looks like.

Have you seen that new TV show, the one about the married couple?
~ It doesn’t ring a bell.

= it doesn’t sound familiar, I don’t recognize it

5. “It went in one ear and out the other.”

go in one ear and out the other
= forget something as soon as you hear it, forget something quickly

You are listening to someone speaking, but you are not really listening carefully. When the other person says something, you hear it but you don’t remember it.

He told me is his name, but it went in one ear & out the other.

She won’t remember. Everything you tell her goes in one ear and out the other!

I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what you said. It went in one ear and out the other. I’m very distracted today.

Be careful! This is not a nice thing to say to someone, because you are saying that you aren’t paying attention to him or her!
 

6. “Can you refresh my memory?”

refresh one’s memory
= help someone remember something

It doesn’t ring a bell. Can you refresh my memory?

I have to read my notes again from the previous meeting to refresh my memory.

Be careful! “Let me refresh your memory” is a common phrase, but it can have a negative meaning. People like to forget bad or negative experiences. Sometimes people say “let me refresh your memory” in an angry way to make someone remember something negative.

You don’t remember me? Let me refresh your memory. You stole my phone!

7. “I had a senior moment.”

have a senior moment
(usually said by older people)
= a humorous way of saying that you momentarily can’t remember something simple because you are getting older

You can blame forgetting something on your age!

A senior citizen is an older person, usually someone who is 65 or older. (Sixty-five is the official retirement age in many countries.) Senior is often used by itself as a shortened form of senior citizen.

I had a senior moment. I forgot what my new car looked like and I spent 20 minutes looking for it in the parking lot.

I had a senior moment yesterday. I thought my brother was my son.

People like to joke that they are getting old when they are 30 or 40 years old. Sometimes a young person will say “I had a senior moment” or “I’m having a senior moment” as a way to say that they are getting old.

Do you have any fun expressions in your language to say you forget something? Share them in the comments below!

How is the word forget distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of forget are disregard, ignore, neglect, overlook, and slight. While all these words mean «to pass over without giving due attention,» forget may suggest either a willful ignoring or a failure to impress something on one’s mind.

When can disregard be used instead of forget?

While in some cases nearly identical to forget, disregard suggests voluntary inattention.

disregarded the wishes of his family

When could ignore be used to replace forget?

The words ignore and forget can be used in similar contexts, but ignore implies a failure to regard something obvious.

When might neglect be a better fit than forget?

In some situations, the words neglect and forget are roughly equivalent. However, neglect implies giving insufficient attention to something that merits one’s attention.

habitually neglected his studies

When would overlook be a good substitute for forget?

Although the words overlook and forget have much in common, overlook suggests disregarding or ignoring through haste or lack of care.

in my rush I overlooked a key example

Where would slight be a reasonable alternative to forget?

The synonyms slight and forget are sometimes interchangeable, but slight implies contemptuous or disdainful disregarding or omitting.

slighted several major authors in her survey

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