Unlearn

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ʌnˈləːn/

Definitions

1. To intentionally stop using or remembering knowledge or habits learned before
2. To consciously reject or erase skills or information once gained
3. To actively discard earlier learned ideas or behaviors in favor of new ones

Etymology: "Unlearn" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-" joined to the verb "learn." What makes it more than a simple reversal is that "learn" itself once carried the sense of "teach" in English, a meaning it kept in dialect and older writing, so the verb could sensibly run in both directions. The Middle English form "unlernen" shows the word was already in use in that period, built on the same pattern English used for many verbs, where "un-" reverses or undoes the action. The modern sense is narrower than the bare reversal suggests. To unlearn is not simply to forget a fact but to deliberately discard a habit or belief that has been absorbed and now gets in the way. That sense of active, effortful removal is what gives the word its current life in discussions of bad habits and outdated assumptions.

Synonyms: forget, discard

Antonyms: learn, acquire