Library / English Dictionary

NEGLECT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Willful lack of care and attention

Synonyms:

disregard; neglect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

mistreatment (the practice of treating (someone or something) badly)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

despite (contemptuous disregard)

Derivation:

neglect (fail to attend to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances

Synonyms:

carelessness; neglect; negligence; nonperformance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

nonaccomplishment; nonachievement (an act that does not achieve its intended goal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

dereliction (willful negligence)

comparative negligence ((law) negligence allocated between the plaintiff and the defendant with a corresponding reduction in damages paid to the plaintiff)

concurrent negligence ((law) negligence of two of more persons acting independently; the plaintiff may sue both together or separately)

contributory negligence ((law) behavior by the plaintiff that contributes to the harm resulting from the defendant's negligence)

criminal negligence; culpable negligence ((law) recklessly acting without reasonable caution and putting another person at risk of injury or death (or failing to do something with the same consequences))

neglect of duty ((law) breach of a duty)

dodging; escape; evasion (nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do)

Derivation:

neglect (leave undone or leave out)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern

Synonyms:

neglect; neglectfulness; negligence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

carelessness; sloppiness (the quality of not being careful or taking pains)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

delinquency; dereliction; willful neglect (a tendency to be negligent and uncaring)

laxity; laxness; remissness; slackness (the quality of being lax and neglectful)

Derivation:

neglect (fail to attend to)

neglect (fail to do something; leave something undone)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Lack of attention and due care

Synonyms:

disregard; neglect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

inattention (lack of attention)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

omission (neglecting to do something; leaving out or passing over something)

Derivation:

neglect (fail to attend to)

neglect (give little or no attention to)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The state of something that has been unused and neglected

Example:

the house was in a terrible state of neglect

Synonyms:

disuse; neglect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

declination; decline (a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

omission (something that has been omitted)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Leave undone or leave out

Example:

The workers on the conveyor belt miss one out of ten

Synonyms:

drop; leave out; miss; neglect; omit; overleap; overlook; pretermit

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "neglect"):

forget (forget to do something)

jump; pass over; skip; skip over (bypass)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Antonym:

attend to (get down to; pay attention to; take seriously)

Derivation:

neglect (failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances)

neglecter (a person who is neglectful and gives little attention or respect to people or responsibilities)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fail to attend to

Example:

he neglects his children

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "neglect"):

slack (be inattentive to, or neglect)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot neglect Sue

Derivation:

negligent (characterized by neglect and undue lack of concern)

neglecter (a person who is neglectful and gives little attention or respect to people or responsibilities)

neglect (lack of attention and due care)

neglect (the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern)

neglect (willful lack of care and attention)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Give little or no attention to

Example:

Disregard the errors

Synonyms:

disregard; ignore; neglect

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "neglect"):

pretermit (disregard intentionally or let pass)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

neglect (lack of attention and due care)

neglecter (a person who is neglectful and gives little attention or respect to people or responsibilities)

negligent (characterized by neglect and undue lack of concern)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Fail to do something; leave something undone

Example:

The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account

Synonyms:

fail; neglect

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "neglect"):

lose track (fail to keep informed or aware)

strike out (put out or be put out by a strikeout)

default; default on (fail to pay up)

choke (fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation)

muff (fail to catch, as of a ball)

miss (fail to attend an event or activity)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Derivation:

neglect (the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern)

Credits

 Context examples: 

But he did not neglect his writing.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Worse still, she neglected to make the old woman’s bed properly, and forgot to shake it so that the feathers might fly about.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Neglect, or not providing for a child's needs, is also a form of abuse.

(Child Abuse, NIH)

It was hard to believe that amongst so prosaic surroundings of neglect and dust and decay there was any ground for such fear as already we knew.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I cannot readily forget the agonies which I endured some years ago through neglecting this precaution.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Your indifference, however, towards that unfortunate girl—I must say it, unpleasant to me as the discussion of such a subject may well be—your indifference is no apology for your cruel neglect of her.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

She depended on the evil feelings of the Eltons for supplying all the discipline of pointed neglect that could be farther requisite.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

The mischief of neglect and mistaken indulgence towards such a girl—oh! how acutely did she now feel it!

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The “young gal” likewise occasioned me some uneasiness: not so much by neglecting to wash the plates, as by breaking them.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Yes, and that is a factor which we must certainly not neglect.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)