unlearn
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English unlernen, equivalent to un- + learn.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
unlearn (third-person singular simple present unlearns, present participle unlearning, simple past and past participle unlearned or unlearnt)
- (transitive) To discard the knowledge of.
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 80:
- It was another lesson from Fort Hare that I had to unlearn in Johannesburg.
- 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 231:
- It is a language that, once learnt, I have been unable to unlearn.
- (transitive) To break a habit.
Translations edit
to discard the knowledge of
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