NEGLECT

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does neglect mean? 

• NEGLECT (noun)
  The noun NEGLECT has 5 senses:

1. lack of attention and due care

2. the state of something that has been unused and neglected

3. willful lack of care and attention

4. the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern

5. failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances

  Familiarity information: NEGLECT used as a noun is common.

• NEGLECT (verb)
  The verb NEGLECT has 4 senses:

1. leave undone or leave out

2. fail to do something; leave something undone

3. fail to attend to

4. give little or no attention to

  Familiarity information: NEGLECT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NEGLECT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lack of attention and due care

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

disregard; neglect

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

inattention (lack of attention)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

omission (neglecting to do something; leaving out or passing over something)

Derivation:

neglect (fail to attend to)

neglect (give little or no attention to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of something that has been unused and neglected

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

disuse; neglect

Context example:

the house was in a terrible state of neglect

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

declination; decline (a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

omission (something that has been omitted)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Willful lack of care and attention

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

disregard; neglect

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

mistreatment (the practice of treating (someone or something) badly)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

despite (contemptuous disregard)

Derivation:

neglect (fail to attend to)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

neglect; neglectfulness; negligence

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

carelessness; sloppiness (the quality of not being careful or taking pains)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

delinquency; dereliction; willful neglect (a tendency to be negligent and uncaring)

laxity; laxness; remissness; slackness (the quality of being lax and neglectful)

Derivation:

neglect (fail to attend to)

neglect (fail to do something; leave something undone)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

carelessness; neglect; negligence; nonperformance

Hypernyms ("neglect" is a kind of...):

nonaccomplishment; nonachievement (an act that does not achieve its intended goal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neglect"):

dereliction (willful negligence)

comparative negligence ((law) negligence allocated between the plaintiff and the defendant with a corresponding reduction in damages paid to the plaintiff)

concurrent negligence ((law) negligence of two of more persons acting independently; the plaintiff may sue both together or separately)

contributory negligence ((law) behavior by the plaintiff that contributes to the harm resulting from the defendant's negligence)

criminal negligence; culpable negligence ((law) recklessly acting without reasonable caution and putting another person at risk of injury or death (or failing to do something with the same consequences))

neglect of duty ((law) breach of a duty)

dodging; escape; evasion (nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do)

Derivation:

neglect (leave undone or leave out)

• NEGLECT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they neglect    ... he / she / it neglects   
Past simple: neglected   
Past participle: neglected   
-ing form: neglecting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Leave undone or leave out

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

drop; leave out; miss; neglect; omit; overleap; overlook; pretermit

Context example:

The workers on the conveyor belt miss one out of ten

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "neglect"):

forget (forget to do something)

jump; pass over; skip; skip over (bypass)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Antonym:

attend to (get down to; pay attention to; take seriously)

Derivation:

neglect (failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances)

neglecter (a person who is neglectful and gives little attention or respect to people or responsibilities)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fail to do something; leave something undone

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

fail; neglect

Context example:

The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "neglect"):

lose track (fail to keep informed or aware)

strike out (put out or be put out by a strikeout)

default; default on (fail to pay up)

choke (fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation)

muff (fail to catch, as of a ball)

miss (fail to attend an event or activity)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Derivation:

neglect (the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Fail to attend to

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

he neglects his children

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "neglect"):

slack (be inattentive to, or neglect)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot neglect Sue

Derivation:

neglect (willful lack of care and attention)

negligent (characterized by neglect and undue lack of concern)

neglecter (a person who is neglectful and gives little attention or respect to people or responsibilities)

neglect (lack of attention and due care)

neglect (the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Give little or no attention to

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

disregard; ignore; neglect

Context example:

Disregard the errors

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "neglect"):

pretermit (disregard intentionally or let pass)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

neglect (lack of attention and due care)

neglecter (a person who is neglectful and gives little attention or respect to people or responsibilities)

negligent (characterized by neglect and undue lack of concern)

 Context examples 

By-the-bye, I must have mine in mind; it won't do to neglect her; she is a Fairfax, or wed to one; and blood is said to be thicker than water.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I am not one of those who neglect the reigning power to bow to the rising sun.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

I had now neglected my promise for some time, and I feared the effects of the dæmon’s disappointment.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

She smiled, said nothing, and with Hannah's help did their neglected work, keeping home pleasant and the domestic machinery running smoothly.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Miss Crawford was very right in what she said of you the other day: that you seemed almost as fearful of notice and praise as other women were of neglect.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

If the latter, may it be taken as some sign of self-reproach for duty neglected?

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I cursed myself for my neglect.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Her father was a clergyman, without being neglected, or poor, and a very respectable man, though his name was Richard—and he had never been handsome.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Meanwhile, Hope, we cannot neglect all our other duties on account of this one misfortune.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I neglected the boat and had the sail spilling the wind again and again, such was my delight in following her every movement as she searched through the blankets for the pin.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)