obliviate

English

Etymology

From oblivion +‎ -ate (verb-forming suffix), itself either from Old French oblivion (13th century) or directly from Latin oblīviō, ultimately from oblīvīscor (“to forget”), originally “even out, smooth over, erase”; further perhaps from ob- (“against, towards”) + the root of lēvis (“smooth”) + -scor (“forming inchoative verbs”).

Verb

obliviate (third-person singular simple present obliviates, present participle obliviating, simple past and past participle obliviated) (now rare)

  1. (transitive) To forget; to wipe from existence. [from 1661]
    Near-synonym: obliterate
    • 1811, George Grennell, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      Time has not yet obliviated the veneration of our jacobins for France, while she was seething with faction and blood […]
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