SINCE 1828
benign neglect
nounDefinition of benign neglect
: an attitude or policy of ignoring an often delicate or undesirable situation that one is held to be responsible for dealing with
Examples of benign neglect in a Sentence
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Our Revolution was made possible by some remarkable factors, most of which involve the benign neglect of the British government toward the 13 colonies for much of their first 150 years. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "The new trustbusters," 3 July 2018 After six decades, the rooms were still intact, largely thanks to benign neglect. — Cynthia Frank, ELLE Decor, "House Tour: A Once-Crumbling Milan Apartment Now Revels In Maximalist Decor," 13 Mar. 2018 The need for benign neglect The more squared-away among us have been doing their Christmas shopping for a while. — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, "Just Say ‘Yes’ to Prosperity," 17 Dec. 2017 Awkwardness became a cyclical force, weaponized not through malice, but through the convenient delusions of benign neglect. — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, "The Weaponization of Awkwardness," 15 Dec. 2017 For those who care about international women’s rights, the best-case scenario under the new administration is benign neglect. — Michelle Goldberg, Slate Magazine, "The Other Women Harmed by a Trump Presidency," 9 Feb. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'benign neglect.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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