I. nə̇ˈglekt, nēˈ- transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin neglectus, past participle of neglegere, negligere, neclegere, from nec- not (akin to ne- not) + legere to choose, gather — more at no , legend
1.
a. : to give little or no attention or respect to : consider or deal with as if of little or no importance : disregard , slight
some of the most significant issues have been neglected — Bruce Payne
neglected the real needs of the students
b. : to fail to attend to sufficiently or properly : not give proper attention or care to
a great deal of its important work must either be neglected or only inadequately done — J.E.Smith
neglected her clothes and hair
neglected his correspondence
2. : to carelessly omit doing (something that should be done) either altogether or almost altogether : leave undone or unattended to through carelessness or by intention : pass lightly over
neglecting their obvious duty
neglected to mention that he was a convict — Bernard Smith
3. obsolete : to cause to be neglected
my absence doth neglect no great design — Shakespeare
Synonyms:
neglect , omit , disregard , ignore , overlook , slight , and forget can mean in common to pass over something without giving it due or sufficient attention. neglect implies failure to give full or proper attention to someone or something that has a claim on one's attention
neglect the duties of a citizen
neglect one's friends
omit implies to neglect entirely, as by oversight or inattention, an important detail or aspect of a whole or of a series of related things
wished his parents had omitted to have him baptized — Bruce Marshall
small possessions of her own which she had omitted to remove from the … room — Arnold Bennett
disregard usually implies a voluntary inattention
efface and injure something in ourselves, when we hurry by and disregard what does not seem to profit our own existence — Laurence Binyon
wished to affirm her right to disregard the feelings of all the world — Joseph Conrad
ignore implies an intention to disregard or a failure to regard something more or less obvious
he who ignores outsiders is naturally ignored himself — G.G.Coulton
get a reputation for clarity by avoiding or ignoring all the tangled jungles, by detouring round the blind alleys and dead ends of thought — Irwin Edman
ignore trivial irritations
overlook implies a disregarding typically through haste or lack of care
some of the most significant issues have been neglected, and many revealing lessons of past experience have been overlooked — Bruce Payne
promised to give him some background work, a promise he later overlooked — American Guide Series: Louisiana
slight usually implies cursory treatment, often contemptuous, or a disdainful disregarding
nothing in the service was slighted, every phrase and gesture had its full value — Willa Cather
these systems sometimes do not receive their full share of attention and may be slighted in the design — H.J.Petersen
felt as if he had been slighted by a close friend
forget in this comparison can imply a willful ignoring but more often suggests an absentminded neglecting
the matter seemed important but I was told by my superiors, who were afraid of trouble, to forget it
forgot to turn off the gas before leaving the house
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin neglectus, from neglectus, past participle of neglegere
1.
a. : the action of neglecting something
could not understand his neglect of her
one other element which may have contributed to the neglect of this problem — H.G.Armstrong
b. : the condition of being neglected
would sink back into relative neglect and stagnation — Harold Griffin
2.
a. : the fact of neglecting or of being neglected
cannot deny the total neglect of the house
b. archaic : an instance of neglecting or of being neglected
recovering from … ravages and neglects — J.H.Stocqueler
Synonyms: see failure