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Definition of "neglect" []

  • To pay little or no attention to; fail to heed; disregard: neglected their warnings. (verb-transitive)
  • To fail to care for or attend to properly: neglects her appearance. (verb-transitive)
  • To fail to do or carry out, as through carelessness or oversight: neglected to return the call. (verb-transitive)
  • The act or an instance of neglecting something. (noun)
  • The state of being neglected. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "neglect" in a sentence
  • "In the whispered conversations that were conducted at his cribside, they used the word neglect."
  • "And oh, the scoldings we received for what they called our neglect and stupidity!"
  • "I do not mean that she felt no pain at the thought of going back to her home alone, or that she had quite ceased to blame herself for what she called her neglect of her suffering sister."