Neglect
To pay little or no attention to; to fail to care for or attend to.
verbNeglect
To pay little or no attention to; to fail to care for or attend to.
verbImagine This
Imagine watering a garden, but you keep walking past one corner where a plant is wilting. You never water it or pull weeds, and over weeks the entire corner falls into disrepair while the rest of the garden thrives.
Sounds Like
nih-GLEKT
Looks Like
neg + lect (negative + select) — visually hints at not choosing
Remember This
Neglect often leads to deterioration; related noun is negligence. Common collocations include neglect a duty, neglect a person, neglect to do something.
Other Forms
Connect With
ignore, disregard, overlook; abandonment; carelessness; failure to tend to duties
Note
Neglect implies inattention or failure to care for something that deserves attention. Do not confuse with 'ignore'—ignore means to purposely pay no attention, which can be deliberate; neglect can be passive or due to oversight. The verb can take a direct object (neglect the garden) or be followed by 'to' + verb (neglect to do something).