neglect
English · Thesaurus
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neglect
- /nɪˈɡlɛkt/
Rhymes with -ɛkt
Where it comes from
The verb is inherited from Middle English neglect, neclect, derived from Latin neglēctus, perfect passive participle of neglegō (“to make light of, disregard, not to pick up”), itself from nec (“not”) + legō (“to pick up, select”). The noun is from neglēctus (“neglect”). First attested in 1460, the noun in 1588.
verb neglects · neglecting · neglected
- To fail to care for or attend to something. to neglect duty or business; to neglect to pay debts
-
To omit to notice; to forbear to treat with attention or respect; to slight.
to neglect strangers
Similar: disregard
- To fail to do or carry out something due to oversight or carelessness. A friend of mine who runs an intellectual magazine was grousing about his movie critic, complaining that though the fellow had liked The Godfather (page 58), he had neglected to label it clearly as a masterpiece.
- To ignore for the sake of simplifying calculations without significantly affecting accuracy. We can neglect this term, as it approaches zero in the limit anyway.
Similar: take no notice of · Opposite: care, mind, reck, consider, notice, regard
noun neglects
- The act of neglecting.
- The state of being neglected.
- Habitual lack of care. Fifteen participants argued that the neglect of discourse on relationships had major implications for the ability of adolescents to acquire courtship skills and maintain relationships. This neglect means that the students acquire knowledge and skills through the media and by observing and imitating
Similar: carelessness, negligence · Opposite: consideration, notice, regard
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: neglectfulness, negligence, disregard, ignore, carelessness, disuse, nonperformance, miss, fail, cold-shoulder, leave out, omit, slight, overleap, overlook, drop
noun
Similar: carelessness, negligence · Opposite: consideration, notice, regard
Translations
Every language
verb fail to care for
| Español | descuidar, negligir |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | अवहेला avhelā, अवहेलना avhelnā |
| Português | negligenciar, descurar |
| Français | négliger |
| Deutsch | vernachlässigen, verabsäumen, versäumen, missachten, unterlassen, hintanstellen |
| Italiano | mancare, negligere, omettere, ignorare, trascurare |
| Ελληνικά | παραμελώ parameló |
| Русский | забрасывать zabrasyvatʹ, запускать zapuskatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | bỏ lơ, bỏ mặc |
verb omit to notice; slight; disregard
| Español | descuidar, desoír, hacer caso omiso, desatender, negligir |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 소홀히 하다 soholhi hada, 등한히 하다 deunghanhi hada |
| 日本語 | 無視する mushi suru, 忽略する kotsuryaku suru |
| 中文 | 忽略 hūlüè, 忽视 hūshì |
| हिन्दी | अवहेलना avhelnā |
| Português | negligenciar |
| Français | négliger |
| Deutsch | missachten, nicht beachten, ignorieren, zurücksetzen, benachteiligen, außer Acht lassen |
| Italiano | tralasciare |
| Ελληνικά | αμελώ ameló |
| Română | neglija, a nu ține cont de, delăsa |
| Русский | пренебрега́ть prenebregátʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | bỏ lơ, bỏ mặc |
| العربية | أَهْمَلَ ʔahmala |
verb failure due to carelessness
| Español | descuidar, negligir |
|---|---|
| Português | negligenciar |
| Deutsch | versäumen, verfehlen, unterlassen |
| Русский | упуска́ть upuskátʹ |
noun act of neglecting
| Español | negligencia, abandono |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 태만 taeman |
| 日本語 | 怠慢 taiman, 無視 mushi, 忽略 kotsuryaku |
| हिन्दी | उपेक्षा upekṣā |
| Português | negligência |
| Français | négligence |
| Deutsch | Vernachlässigung |
| Italiano | negligenza |
| Ελληνικά | αμέλεια améleia |
| Русский | пренебреже́ние prenebrežénije |
| العربية | إِهْمَال ʔihmāl |
| עברית | הזנחה haznaha |
noun state of being neglected
| हिन्दी | उपेक्षित upekṣit |
|---|
noun habitual lack of care
| Español | negligencia |
|---|---|
| Français | négligence |
| Deutsch | Nachlässigkeit |
| Русский | небре́жность nebréžnostʹ |
Talk about this word "neglect." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/neglect. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. neglect. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/neglect "neglect." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/neglect.Cite this
@misc{neglect_2026,
title = {neglect},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/neglect},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
