neglect Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun lack of attention and due care
    disregard.
  2. noun the state of something that has been unused and neglected
    disuse.
    • the house was in a terrible state of neglect
  3. noun willful lack of care and attention
    disregard.
  4. noun the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern
    neglectfulness; negligence.
  5. noun failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
    carelessness; nonperformance; negligence.
  6. verb leave undone or leave out
    pretermit; omit; drop; overleap; leave out; overlook; miss.
    • How could I miss that typo?
    • The workers on the conveyor belt miss one out of ten
  7. verb fail to do something; leave something undone
    fail.
    • She failed to notice that her child was no longer in his crib
    • The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account
  8. verb fail to attend to
    • he neglects his children
  9. verb give little or no attention to
    ignore; disregard.
    • Disregard the errors

WordNet

Neg*lect" transitive verb
Etymology
L. neglectus, p.p. of neglegere (negligere) to disregard, neglect, the literal sense prob. neing, not to pick up; nec not, nor (fr. ne not + -que, a particle akin to Goth. -h, -uh, and prob. to E. who; cf. Goth. nih nor) + L. legere to pick up, gather. See No, adv., Legend, Who.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Neglected; present participle & verbal noun Neglecting
Definitions
  1. Not to attend to with due care or attention; to forbear one's duty in regard to; to suffer to pass unimproved, unheeded, undone, etc.; to omit; to disregard; to slight; as, to neglect duty or business; to neglect to pay debts.
    I hope My absence doth neglect no great designs. Shak.
    This, my long suffering and my day of grace, Those who neglect and scorn shall never taste. Milton.
  2. To omit to notice; to forbear to treat with attention or respect; to slight; as, to neglect strangers. Syn. -- To slight; overlook; disregard; disesteem; contemn. See Slight.
Neg*lect" noun
Etymology
L. neglectus. See Neglect, v.
Definitions
  1. Omission of proper attention; avoidance or disregard of duty, from heedlessness, indifference, or willfulness; failure to do, use, or heed anything; culpable disregard; as, neglect of business, of health, of economy.
    To tell thee sadly, shepherd, without blame, Or our neglect, we lost her as we came. Milton.
  2. Omission if attention or civilities; slight; as, neglect of strangers.
  3. Habitual carelessness; negligence.
    Age breeds neglect in all. Denham.
  4. The state of being disregarded, slighted, or neglected.
    Rescue my poor remains from vile neglect. Prior.
    Syn. -- Negligence; inattention; disregard; disesteem; remissness; indifference. See Negligence. benign neglect. -- A deliberate policy of minimizing public discussion of a controversial issue [by the president] on the theory that excessive discussion in itself is harmful or counterproductive

Webster 1913