Unaware or not concerned about what is happening around oneself
Examples:
He walked past, oblivious to the situation around him.Her dog barked loudly, but she remained oblivious.Working deeply, the artist was oblivious to the time passing.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Forgetful
/fəˈɡetfəl/
Often failing to remember things
Examples:
She left her keys at home again, so forgetful!His forgetful nature meant frequent appointments were missed.Despite her charm, her forgetful ways often caused trouble.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
Oblivious people are unaware of what is going on around them, whereas forgetful people struggle to remember things.
To be oblivious means you might never have noticed something in the first place, while being forgetful means you've noticed it but cannot recall it later.
You might be oblivious to someones feelings if youre not perceptive, but forgetful if you once knew but can't remember those feelings now.
Obliviousness often refers to an ongoing state of unawareness, while forgetfulness can refer to specific instances of forgetting.
If youre oblivious, you might not even realize youre missing information, but if youre forgetful, you can know youve forgotten something important.