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amnésie

amnesia

noun am-neh-ZEE Rare

Usage Note

Amnésie is the medical and everyday term for memory loss, whether caused by trauma, illness, or — in casual speech — convenient forgetting. The related adjective and noun amnésique describes someone who has amnesia. French also uses l'amnésie collective metaphorically for a society forgetting past events — a phrase common in journalism and history writing.

Examples

"Il souffre d'amnésie partielle."

Natural Translation

He suffers from partial amnesia.

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