oblivion
/əˈblɪviːən/noun, verb
oblivion is spelled O-B-L-I-V-I-O-N: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, oblivion means “The state of forgetting completely, of being oblivious, unconscious, unaware, as when sleeping, drunk, or dead” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of oblivion is oblivions.
How many letters and syllables are in oblivion?
| Letters | 8: O-B-L-I-V-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 19,077th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is oblivion?
Oblivion appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce oblivion?
- /əˈblɪviːən/
Oblivion has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-oblivion.ogg, OblivionUK2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of oblivion
- oblivions plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- oblivioning participle, present
- oblivioned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does oblivion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of forgetting completely, of being oblivious, unconscious, unaware, as when sleeping, drunk, or dead.
He regularly drank himself into oblivion.
- 2
The state of being completely forgotten, of being reduced to a state of non-existence, extinction, or nothingness, including through war and destruction. (Figuratively) for an area like hell, a wasteland.
Due to modern technology, many more people and much more information will not slip into oblivion, contrary to what happened throughout history until now.
- 3
A form of purgatory.
- 4
obsoleteAmnesty.
verb
- 1
To consign to oblivion; to efface utterly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Oblivion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | oubli , néant |
| German | Vergessen , Vergessenheit |
| Portuguese | esquecimento, olvido, oblívio |
| Spanish | olvido, desmemoria, olvidanza , nada |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does oblivion come from?
Inherited from Middle English oblivion, from Anglo-Norman oblivion, from Latin oblīviō (“forgetfulness”), from oblīvīscor (“to forget”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).