neglect
pronunciation
How to pronounce neglect in British English:
UK [nɪˈɡlekt]
How to pronounce neglect in American English:
US [nɪˈɡlekt]
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- Noun:
- lack of attention and due care
- the state of something that has been unused and neglected
- willful lack of care and attention
- the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern
- failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
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- Verb:
- leave undone or leave out
- fail to do something; leave something undone
- fail to attend to
- give little or no attention to
Word Origin
- neglect (v.)
- 1520s, from Latin neglectus, past participle of neglegere "to make light of, disregard, be indifferent to, not heed, not trouble oneself about," literally "not to pick up," variant of neclegere, from Old Latin nec "not" (see deny) + legere "pick up, select" (see lecture (n.)). Related: Neglected; neglecting.
- neglect (n.)
- 1580s, from neglect (v.) or from Latin neglectus "a neglecting," noun use of past participle of neglegere.
Synonym
Example
- 1. But we shouldn 't neglect the biggest anomaly .
- 2. One physiological need that we often neglect is sleep .
- 3. But after ten years of neglect , there is no quick fix for crumbling infrastructure .
- 4. She grew up in a household brimming with neglect .
- 5. Repairing this neglect will take years .