amnesia
noun
Simple meaning
Partial or total loss of memory.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
amneezhuhSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
æmˈniʒə
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
pathology
Partial or total loss of memory
pathology
Loss of memory; forgetfulness.
ukslang
A potent sativa-dominant strain of marijuana.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Partial or total loss of memory
Used this way, amnesia is a specialist word with a faintly unfavourable edge. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Loss of memory for events immediately following a trauma.
Selective amnesia after being in a hypnotic state of events occurring during hypnosis or of information designated by the hypnotist.
Loss of memory for events immediately following a trauma.
Loss of memory for events immediately preceding a trauma.
Amnesia about particular events that is very convenient for the person who cannot remember.
Memory disorder seen in middle aged and elderly persons.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: partial or total loss of memory
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.