neglect

play

verb ne·glect \ ni-ˈglekt \

Definition of neglect

transitive verb

1 :to give little attention or respect to :disregard

The building has been neglected for years.

2 :to leave undone or unattended to especially through carelessness

The prison guard neglected his duty.

—

neglecter

noun

See neglect defined for English-language learners

See neglect defined for kids

Examples of neglect in a Sentence

The building has been neglected for years.
The city has neglected the teacher shortage for too long.
The prison guard neglected his duty.

Recent Examples of neglect from the Web

The timeline aligns with Roman civil wars throughout the first century B.C.E. that would have led to neglect.

— michael price, Science | AAAS, "Origins of Ancient Rome’s famed pipe plumbing system revealed in soil samples," 28 Aug. 2017
Unfortunately, this holds true for most garment-making (excluding those of royalty), as well as craftsmanship and folk art, which have been sorely neglected by historians.

— emily lever, Esquire, "The Revolutionary History of Espadrilles," 17 Aug. 2017
Meanwhile, Southern California’s civic leaders ignored and neglected what had once been a strong technological base in the aerospace industry.

— joe donatelli, Los Angeles Magazine, "Southern California Used to Carry the State Economy. Now the North Does. What Happened?," 14 Aug. 2017
Others were beaten, stabbed, neglected or hit by a vehicle.

— mark price and gavin off, charlotteobserver, "Another body in a car, and it’s along Charlotte’s Independence corridor again," 9 Aug. 2017
More: Free Louisville heart clinic helps patients society has 'neglected' Some people are more old school and use natural sweeteners like agave nectar, date sugar, fruit juice concentrate, honey, maple syrup and molasses.

— taylor m. riley, The Courier-Journal, "Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is the new thing, but what the heck is it anyway?," 26 July 2017
Decades ago, they were neglected, but they are now maintained beautifully, thanks to a joint private-public partnership between the Friends of Acadia and the National Park Service.

— martha stewart, star-telegram, "One of Martha’s favorite places on earth: Acadia National Park," 15 July 2017
Some gave patients the wrong medications, failed to protect them from violent or bullying residents and staff members, or neglected to tell families or physicians about injuries, inspection records show.

— jordan rau, Kaiser Health News, "Half The Time, Nursing Homes Scrutinized On Safety By Medicare Are Still Treacherous," 6 July 2017
For all the love plus-size bathing suits and bras have been getting lately, there’s one area of fashion that’s remained neglected: the accessories.

— macaela mackenzie, Allure, "Universal Standard Launches a Plus-Size Jewelry Collection," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'neglect.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of neglect

Latin neglectus, past participle of neglegere, neclegere, from nec- not (akin to ne- not) + legere to gather — more at no, legend

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1529

See Words from the same year

neglect Synonyms

Synonyms

bypass, disregard, forget, ignore, overlook, overpass, pass over, slight, slur (over)

Antonyms

attend (to), heed, mind, regard, tend (to)

Related Words

fail; miss, omit; brush (aside or off), reject, shrug off, slough (off) also sluff (off); disdain, pooh-pooh (also pooh), scorn; scant, skimp

Near Antonyms

appreciate, cherish, prize, treasure, value; cultivate, foster, nurse, nurture; pamper; remember; listen (to), watch; follow, mark, note, notice, observe, remark

Synonym Discussion of neglect

neglect, disregard, ignore, overlook, slight, forget mean to pass over without giving due attention. neglect implies giving insufficient attention to something that merits one's attention.

- habitually neglected his studies

disregard suggests voluntary inattention.

- disregarded the wishes of his family

ignore implies a failure to regard something obvious.

- ignored the snide remark

overlook suggests disregarding or ignoring through haste or lack of care.

- in my rush I overlooked a key example

slight implies contemptuous or disdainful disregarding or omitting.

- slighted several major authors in her survey

forget may suggest either a willful ignoring or a failure to impress something on one's mind.

- forget what others say

neglect

noun

Definition of neglect

1 :an act or instance of neglecting something

2 :the condition of being neglected

See neglect defined for English-language learners

Examples of neglect in a Sentence

The park was overgrown and littered from years of neglect.
The parents were charged with child neglect.
The house is in a state of neglect.

Recent Examples of neglect from the Web

In Philadelphia, and nationwide, child welfare agencies try, whenever possible, to keep children with their families, especially if a family’s issues are related to poverty rather than abuse or neglect.

— julia terruso, Philly.com, "DHS took away two of her kids. She jumped from a window with the third in her arms.," 25 Aug. 2017
And, as Alec MacGillis reports, Carson’s Department of Housing and Urban Development is turning into a case study of neglect.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Is Failing to Follow Through on Many of His Worst Ideas," 22 Aug. 2017
Kansas is asking that all reports of child abuse and neglect be made by phone for now because of computer problems.

— jonathan shorman, kansascity, "Kansas asks that child abuse reports be made by phone because of computer problems," 14 Aug. 2017
Bullock, 33, was charged with aggravated child abuse and Waldrop, 31, was charged with child neglect.

— miamiherald, "Florida couple zapped child with stun gun and force-fed dog feces, cops say," 13 Aug. 2017
Without a plausible replacement, killing off Obamacare, by repeal or by neglect, would be grossly irresponsible.

— The Economist, "Revive, don’t repealThree steps to fix Obamacare," 20 July 2017
Holmes is serving a 40-year sentence after pleading guilty to neglect in Kannon's death.

— ruth ann krause, Post-Tribune, "Father sentenced to 48 years in death of infant son," 11 July 2017
The congressional moves and neglect by the Trump administration are already sabotaging Obamacare.

— jon talton, The Seattle Times, "No wonder Senate kept health bill under wraps," 24 June 2017
But as the projects lapsed into neglect and disrepair, Berkeley Avenue also deteriorated in their shadow.

— maya dukmasova, Chicago Reader, "A block in Oakland is an oasis, and a tale of segregation," 22 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of neglect

see ¹neglect

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1597

See Words from the same year

neglect Synonyms

Synonyms

desolation, dilapidation, disrepair, seediness

Antonyms

keeping, repair

Related Words

inattention, negligence; abandonment, desertion; decay, decrepitude, dereliction, deterioration, disintegration, dumpiness, ruin, ruination

Near Antonyms

conservation, preservation, upkeep

NEGLECT Defined for English Language Learners

neglect

play

verb

Definition of neglect for English Language Learners

: to fail to take care of or to give attention to (someone or something)
: to fail to do (something)

neglect

noun

Definition of neglect for English Language Learners

: lack of attention or care that someone or something needs
: the condition of not being taken care of

NEGLECT Defined for Kids

neglect

play

verb ne·glect \ ni-ˈglekt \

Definition of neglect for Students

neglected; neglecting

1 :to fail to give the right amount of attention to

The property has been neglected.

2 :to fail to do or look after especially because of carelessness

She neglected to say goodbye.

Synonym Discussion of neglect

neglect and disregard mean to pass over something without giving it any or enough attention. neglect is used when a person does not give, whether deliberately or not, enough attention to something that deserves or requires attention.

- You have been neglecting your homework.

disregard is used for deliberately overlooking something usually because it is not considered worth noticing.

- He disregarded the “keep out” sign.

neglect

noun

Definition of neglect for Students

1 :lack of attention or care to something or someone

neglect of duty

2 :the state of not being looked after or given attention

The house suffers from neglect.

Law Dictionary

neglect

noun ne·glect

legal Definition of neglect

:a disregard of duty resulting from carelessness, indifference, or willfulness; especially :a failure to provide a child under one's care with proper food, clothing, shelter, supervision, medical care, or emotional stability — compare abuse 2, negligence

—