omission

noun

omis·​sion ō-ˈmi-shən 

ə-

1

a

: something neglected or left undone

There are a few omissions in the list.

b

: apathy toward or neglect of duty

The police officer was reprimanded for the omission of his duty to inform the suspect of his rights.

2

: the act of omitting : the state of being omitted

Her omission from the team was surprising.

Synonyms

• deletion
• elision

Examples of omission in a Sentence

There are a few omissions in the list.

the disk contains a selection of deleted scenes, and a couple of the omissions greatly add to the intelligibility of the movie's plot

Recent Examples on the Web

The omission of Yellow 5 on product labeling raises health concerns, particularly for those with allergies. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025

For climate activists, this may be viewed an encouraging green hushing, or the intentional omission of climate friendly and environmentally friendly actions by a company to avoid controversy of liability. —Jon McGowan, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025

Its decline can be traced back to a couple of key events, including an omission from Irish schools from 1831 to 1878 and the Great Famine of 1845 — which ripped through poorer, rural areas, where the language was still prominent, resulting in a rapid decline of speakers. —Julius Miller, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025

Intriguingly, the researchers found that these unfaithful chains-of-thought were, on average, longer than faithful ones, suggesting the omissions weren't merely for brevity. —ArsTechnica, 10 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English omissioun, from Anglo-French omission, from Late Latin omission-, omissio, from Latin omittere

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for omission

• addition
• admission
• ambition
• attrition
• audition
• clinician
• cognition
• coition
• commission
• condition
• contrition
• dentition

Kids Definition

omission

noun

omis·​sion ō-ˈmish-ən 

ə-

1

: something omitted

2

: the act of omitting : the state of being omitted

Legal Definition

omission

noun

omis·​sion ō-ˈmi-shən 

1

: something neglected, left out, or left undone

2

: the act, fact, or state of leaving something out or failing to do something especially that is required by duty, procedure, or law

liable for a criminal act or omission