neglect

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Disregard

Nouns

1. neglect, negligence, carelessness, heedlessness, thoughtlessness, dereliction, delinquency; omission, oversight, laches, default; benign neglect; rashness; procrastination. See indifference, insufficiency.

2. (neglect of preparation) laxity, laxness, slackness, looseness, slovenliness; unpreparedness, improvidence, unreadiness; disregard, nonobservance, evasion (see avoidance); nonperformance, failure. Informal, a lick and a promise. See relinquishment.

3. (lack of attention) inattention, absence of mind, preoccupation, woolgathering.

4. neglecter, trifler, procrastinator, waster, wastrel, drifter, slacker; Micawber.

Verbs

1. neglect, let slip, let go, lay aside, lose sight of, overlook, disregard, ignore, leave out of account; pass over, up, or by, elide; sit out; let pass, wink at, connive at, gloss over, blink at, eliminate, leave out in the cold; leave in the lurch.

2. be lax, loose, remiss, slack, etc.; relax; let be, ignore, laissez-faire; hold a loose rein, give enough or too much rope.

3. scamp, do by halves, cut, slight, skimp, trifle with, slur, slur or skip over, skim the surface; miss, skip, omit; postpone, procrastinate (see lateness); close or shut one's eyes to, turn a deaf ear to, forget, be caught napping, let the grass grow under one's feet.

Adjectives

1. neglectful, negligent, lax, slack, heedless, half-baked, careless, forgetful, perfunctory, remiss, inconsiderate; unprepared, unready, off one's guard, unwary, unguarded, unwatchful, delinquent; casual, offhand, cursory; supine, asleep, indolent, inattentive, unobservant, unmindful, unheeding, thoughtless, inadvertent; indifferent, imprudent, slovenly, inexact, inaccurate, improvident, asleep at the switch. Informal, out to lunch.

2. neglected, unheeded, uncared for, unnoticed, unattended to, unmissed, shunted, shelved, unused, abandoned, unweighed, unexplored, hid under a bushel, unsung, out in the cold; fallow, untilled, uncultivated.

Adverbs — neglectfully, negligently, anyhow, in an unguarded moment.

Interjections — never mind! let it be!

Quotations — Full many a flower is born to blush unseen and waste its sweetness on the desert air (Thomas Gray), Men should not care too much for good looks; neglect is becoming (Ovid), A little neglect may breed great mischief... for the want of a nail the shoe was lost; for the want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for the want of a horse the rider was lost (Benjamin Franklin).

Antonyms, see care, duty, severity.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [The act of showing indifference to a person]

Syn. slight, disregard, thoughtlessness, disrespect, carelessness, scorn, oversight, inadvertence, heedlessness, inattention, unconcern, inconsideration, disdain, coolness; see also indifference 1 .

2. [The act of neglecting duties or charges]

Syn. negligence, dereliction, neglectfulness; see carelessness .

3. [The result of neglecting]

Syn. chaos, default, lapse; see delay 1 , failure 1 .

v.

1. [To treat with indifference]

Syn. overlook, slight, disregard, ignore, forget, disdain, scorn, rebuff, affront, dismiss, depreciate, spurn, underestimate, undervalue, shake off, make light of, laugh off, keep one's distance, pass over, pass up, pass by, have nothing to do with, let alone, keep aloof, keep aloof from, let go, not care for, pay no attention to, leave alone, take no notice of, be inattentive to, take for granted, not give a hoot, not give a darn, not give a damn, pay no heed, pay no mind, turn one's back on, set at nought, contemn, let well enough alone, leave well enough alone, let it ride*, keep at arm's length*, leave out in the cold*, give the cold shoulder*; see also disregard .

Ant. consider*, appreciate, value.

2. [To fail to attend to responsibilities]

Syn. omit, leave undone, forget, pass over, defer, procrastinate, let slide, let pass, let slip, miss, skip, gloss over, let things go, ignore, be remiss, be negligent, be derelict, trifle, slur, skimp, shirk, slack, postpone, lose sight of, look the other way, dismiss from the mind, not trouble oneself with, not take care of, be slack, evade, pretermit, be careless, be irresponsible, let the grass grow under one's feet*, lie down on the job*.

Ant. take care of, attend to, tend*.

Syn.- neglect implies a failure to carry out some expected or required action, either through carelessness or by intention [ I neglected to set the alarm ] ; omit , in this connection, implies a neglecting through oversight, absorption, etc. [ I omitted to give him directions to the house ] ; overlook suggests a failure to see or to take action, either inadvertently or indulgently [ I'll overlook your error this time ] ; disregard implies inattention or neglect, usually intentional [ to disregard someone's wishes ] ; ignore suggests a deliberate disregarding, sometimes through stubborn refusal to face the facts [ but you ignore the necessity for action ] ; slight implies a disregarding or neglecting in an indifferent or disdainful way [ a critic who seems to slight younger writers ] ; forget , in this connection, implies an intentional disregarding or omitting [ let's forget our differences ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

laxness, disregard, thoughtlessness, inattentiveness, carelessness, slackness, oversight, negligence, dereliction, indifference.

ANT.: care, regard, conscientiousness

II

v.

disregard, ignore, overlook, slight, shirk, omit, pass over, discount, make light of, be remiss, *lie down on the job, forget, let slip, let slide, brush aside, *blow off.

ANT.: regard, consider, care for

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To refuse to pay attention to (a person); treat with contempt: disregard, ignore, slight. Regional: igg. See CONCERN, THOUGHTS. 2. To fail to care for or give proper attention to: disregard, ignore, slight. See CARE FOR, CONCERN. 3. To not do (something necessary): default, fail, omit. See DO. 4. To avoid the fulfillment of: disregard, shirk, slack. Idiom: let slide. See DO. II noun 1. An act or instance of neglecting: disregard, oversight, slight. See CARE FOR, CONCERN. 2. Nonperformance of what ought to be done: default, delinquency, dereliction, failure, omission. Law: nonfeasance. See DO.