What does oblivion mean?
Word: Oblivion
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Oblivion means the state of being completely forgotten by everyone, or of not knowing what is happening around you, as in deep sleep.
Synonyms: obscurity, unconsciousness, forgetfulness
Antonyms: awareness
Word origin: Comes from Latin oblivio, from oblivisci, 'to forget'.
How do you spell oblivion?
Syllables: ob - liv - i - on
Tricky part: The word ends in ion, not ian or eon: students borrow the ending of guardian and write oblivian.
Watch out for: oblivian, obliveon, oblivon
Memory tip: Oblivion ends like onion and opinion: the last three letters are ion.
Oblivion in a sentence
Example 1: Many old folk songs will fade into oblivion unless someone records them.
Example 2: After the long hike, Felix slept in total oblivion until noon.
Example 3: The forgotten letters lay in oblivion at the bottom of the trunk.
Fun Fact
Oblivion and oblivious come from the same Latin verb for forgetting, but oblivious now usually means simply not noticing something.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word oblivion as used in the sentence:
After one hit song in 1995, the singer slipped into oblivion.
a) fame
b) darkness
c) sleep
d) silence
Show answer
a) fame. Famous people are remembered by everyone, which is the reverse of being forgotten.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. nostalgea 2. memory 3. legacy 4. oblivion
a) the state of being forgotten by all
b) a happy and sad longing for the past
c) the power to remember things
d) something handed down from the past
Show answer
b) a happy and sad longing for the past. Nostalgea has e where its ending needs an i; the other three are spelt correctly.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The old fort fell into vbnoiloi after the new capital was built.
a) billion
b) obligation
c) oblivion
d) vision
Show answer
c) oblivion. Billion needs two l's, vision an s, and obligation a g and a t; only oblivion fits the jumble.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
o_l_vion
a) p, i
b) v, i
c) b, e
d) b, i
Show answer
d) b, i. The word opens obl, and an i comes between the l and the v.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A custom that has passed into oblivion is one that ____.
a) is kept only in villages
b) everybody still follows
c) has only just begun
d) nobody remembers any more
Show answer
d) nobody remembers any more
2. When a tired child sleeps in oblivion, the child ____.
a) wakes at every sound
b) sleeps for a few minutes
c) talks loudly in sleep
d) notices nothing around them
Show answer
d) notices nothing around them
