unlearn
verbUK /ʌnˈləːn/ · US /ʌnˈlɝn/
Etymology From Middle English unlernen. By surface analysis, un- + learn.
1
To discard the knowledge of.
- It was another lesson from Fort Hare that I had to unlearn in Johannesburg.1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 80:
- It is a language that, once learnt, I have been unable to unlearn.2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 231:
2
To break a habit.
- Derived terms
- unlearnable, unlearner
- Related terms
- deprogramming