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Webster 1913 Edition


Forget

For-get′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Forgot
(
Forgat
,
Obs
.);
p. p.
Forgotten
,
Forgot
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Forgetting
.]
[OE.
forgeten
,
foryeten
, AS.
forgietan
,
forgitan
; pref.
for-
+
gietan
,
gitan
(only in comp.), to get; cf. D.
vergeten
, G.
vergessen
, Sw.
förgäta
, Dan.
forgiette
. See
For-
, and
Get
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
To lose the remembrance of; to let go from the memory; to cease to have in mind; not to think of; also, to lose the power of; to cease from doing.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget
not all his benefits.
Ps. ciii. 2.
Let my right hand
forget
her cunning.
Ps. cxxxvii. 5.
Hath thy knee
forget
to bow?
Shakespeare
2.
To treat with inattention or disregard; to slight; to neglect.
Can a woman
forget
her sucking child? . . . Yes, they may
forget
, yet will I not
forget
thee.
Is. xlix. 15.
To forget one’s self
.
(a)
To become unmindful of one's own personality; to be lost in thought.
(b)
To be entirely unselfish.
(c)
To be guilty of what is unworthy of one; to lose one's dignity, temper, or self-control.

Webster 1828 Edition


Forget

FORGET'

,
Verb.
T.
pret. forgot. [forgat, obs.]
1.
To lose the remembrance of; to let go from the memory.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Ps. 103.
2.
To slight; to neglect.
Can a woman forget her sucking child? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Is. 49.

Definition 2024


forget

forget

English

Verb

forget (third-person singular simple present forgets, present participle forgetting, simple past forgot or (archaic) forgat, past participle forgotten or (rare) forgot)

  1. (transitive) To lose remembrance of.
    I have forgotten most of the things I learned in school.
    • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
      For at least two hours the Boy loved him, and then Aunts and Uncles came to dinner, and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels, and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten.
  2. (transitive) To unintentionally not do, neglect.
    I forgot to buy flowers for my wife at our 14th wedding anniversary.
  3. (transitive) To unintentionally leave something behind.
    I forgot my car keys.
  4. (intransitive) To cease remembering.
    Let's just forget about it.
  5. (slang) euphemism for ****, **** (a mild oath).
    Forget you!

Usage notes

  • In sense 1 and 4 this is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing).
  • In sense 2 this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive.
  • See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

  • forget in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • forget in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  1. forget”, in the Collins English Dictionary (CollinsDictionary.com).
  2. 1 2 forget” in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online.
  3. 1 2 forget in Cambridge English Dictionary
  4. 1 2 forget” in Collins American English Dictionary, Collins

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: author · authority · pleasant · #861: forget · break · Roman · wise