forgotten

forgotten — adjective

1. no longer kept in anyone's memory; not thought about or mentioned by people anym

1.形容詞B1
釋義

no longer kept in anyone's memory; not thought about or mentioned by people anymore.

例句

Eitan discovered a forgotten drawer full of old photographs in his grandmother's house.

attributive: forgotten + concrete noun (drawer)

The forgotten recipes of Soraya's great-grandmother were finally written down by her aunt.

同義詞
  • lost

    suggests something cannot be recovered at all, not just that it is out of mind

  • neglected

    adds the idea that someone failed to care for something, not merely that it left memory

  • overlooked

    implies a temporary failure to notice, not permanent erasure from memory

反義詞

文法句型

forgotten + [noun]

be + forgotten

用法筆記

Often paired with time expressions (long forgotten, now forgotten) to emphasise the gap since something was last remembered.

常見錯誤

❌Many traditions are forgetting by young people.
✅Many traditions are forgotten by young people.
💡'Forgotten' is the past participle needed in the passive voice; 'forgetting' is the active present participle.

2. describes a place, building, or living thing that has been left without care or

2.形容詞B1
釋義

describes a place, building, or living thing that has been left without care or attention for a long time.

例句

Naoko decided to plant vegetables in the forgotten garden behind the old school.

attributive before place noun (garden)

The forgotten playground was covered in weeds and its swings were broken.

同義詞
  • abandoned

    stronger — suggests people deliberately left and never returned

  • neglected

    focuses on lack of care; the person or thing may still be noticed

  • deserted

    emphasises emptiness and absence of people

反義詞

文法句型

forgotten + [place noun]

be + forgotten

用法筆記

Unlike the NOT REMEMBERED sense, this meaning focuses on physical neglect rather than mental erasure — the place still exists but has been abandoned or uncared for.

常見錯誤

❌The old house was forgetting in the woods.
✅The old house was forgotten in the woods.
💡In passive constructions describing neglect, the past participle 'forgotten' is required, not the present participle 'forgetting'.

3. describes a personal object that someone accidentally did not take with them bec

3.形容詞A2
釋義

describes a personal object that someone accidentally did not take with them because they did not think of it.

例句

Élise found her forgotten umbrella on the train and went back to collect it.

possessive pronoun + forgotten + object noun

A forgotten lunchbox sat on the school bench until the caretaker threw it away.

同義詞
  • left behind

    more neutral — can be intentional or accidental; 'forgotten' is always accidental

  • abandoned

    too strong — suggests the owner chose to leave the item permanently

反義詞

文法句型

possessive + forgotten + [object noun]

a/an + forgotten + [object noun]

用法筆記

Typically used with everyday portable items (keys, phone, wallet, bag, umbrella). Only the attributive position is common — 'The keys are forgotten' sounds unnatural in this sense.

常見錯誤

❌Christopher forgotten his jacket at the gym.
✅Christopher forgot his jacket at the gym.' or 'Christopher had forgotten his jacket at the gym.
💡Without 'have' or 'had', 'forgotten' cannot stand alone as a simple-past verb.

forgotten — verb