Oblivion is the state of being completely forgotten. Sink into oblivion, rescued from oblivion, consigned to oblivion.
It is the fate of almost everything ever made, which is what gives the word its weight in writing about art and reputation. It also means unconsciousness or total unawareness: drink yourself into oblivion. Note oblivious, which means unaware and takes to or of — oblivious to the noise; and that oblivion and oblivious come from the same Latin verb about forgetting, which is why one is a state and the other a condition.
1nounoblivionThe state of being completely forgotten.
“The singer was famous in the sixties but has since fallen into oblivion.”
2nountotalTotal unawareness or unconsciousness.
“After three nights without sleep, he drank a glass of wine and sank into oblivion.”
oblivion is a state of being forgotten.
Latin oblivio comes from oblivisci, to forget, possibly from a root about smoothing over — wiping a wax tablet clean. Oblivion is what is left when the writing has been rubbed out.
Latin
oblīviō — forgetfulness
Anglo-Norman
oblivion
Middle English
oblivion
English, today
oblivion
Built from
Middle English oblivion, from Anglo-Norman oblivion, from Latin oblīviō (“forgetfulness”), from oblīvīscor (“to forget”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA