neglect

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Failure to exercise proper care. Many property insurance policies exclude losses that result from negligence. Neglect is also the basis for many liability suits. If an injury can be demonstrated to result from negligence on the part of a homeowner, a product manufacturer, or a municipality responsible for maintaining streets, an injured party can often collect damages.

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verb

1. To refuse to pay attention to (a person); treat with contempt: disregard, ignore, slight. Regional igg. See concern/unconcern, thoughts.
2. To fail to care for or give proper attention to: disregard, ignore, slight. See care for/neglect, concern/unconcern.
3. To not do (something necessary): default, fail, omit. See do/not do.
4. To avoid the fulfillment of: disregard, shirk, slack. Idioms: let slide. See do/not do.

noun

1. An act or instance of neglecting: disregard, oversight, slight. See care for/neglect, concern/unconcern.
2. Nonperformance of what ought to be done: default, delinquency, dereliction, failure, omission. Law nonfeasance. See do/not do.

n

Definition: disregard
Antonyms: care, obedience, observance, regard, respect, watchfulness

n

Definition: failure, default
Antonyms: accomplishment, achievement, attention, care, completion, finish, success

v

Definition: be indifferent, leave alone
Antonyms: care, cherish, concern, guard, nurture, protect, take care of, watch

v

Definition: fail to do; forget
Antonyms: accomplish, achieve, complete, do, finish, heed, succeed

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

An omission to do or perform some work, duty, or act.

As used by U.S. courts, the term neglect denotes the failure of responsibility on the part of defendants or attorneys. Neglect is related to the concept of negligence, but its rather limited use in the law sets it apart from that much broader doctrine. Generally speaking, neglect means omitting or failing to do something that is required. Neglect is often related to timeliness: examples include the failure of a taxpayer to file a timely income tax return and the failure of an attorney to meet a deadline for filing an appeal. In determining whether to rule against a party, courts consider the reason for the neglect, which can range from unavoidable accidents and hindrances to the less acceptable extreme of carelessness and indifference to duty.

Special terminology applies to some forms of neglect. Culpable neglect exists where a loss arises from an individual's carelessness, improvidence, or folly. Willful neglect applies to marital cases; it refers to the neglect of one spouse, historically the husband, to provide such essentials as food, shelter, and clothing to the other spouse, either because of refusal or indifference. Excusable neglect is used to grant exceptions in cases where neglect was the consequence of accident, unavoidable hindrance, reliance on legal counsel, or reliance on promises made by the adverse party. Excusable neglect can serve as the basis for a motion to vacate a judgment, as in the case of explaining why a deadline for filing an appeal could not be met. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, excusable neglect authorizes a court to permit an act to be done after the official deadline has expired (Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)).

See: child abuse; necessaries.

IN BRIEF: To not do what one should.

A few years of neglect and only the skeleton of a garden can be traced. — Russell Page, from The Education of a Gardener, 1962.

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Quotes:

"Negligence is the rust of the soul, that corrodes through all her best resolves." - Owen Felltham

"A little neglect may breed great mischief." - Benjamin Franklin

"He that thinks he can afford to be negligent is not far from being poor." - Samuel Johnson

"It will generally be found that men who are constantly lamenting their ill luck are only reaping the consequences of their own neglect, mismanagement, and improvidence, or want of application." - Samuel Smiles

"It is the neglect of timely repair that makes rebuilding necessary." - Richard Whately

n/v

The failure to do something that one is bound to do; lack of due care.

For a list of words related to neglect, see:

• Disapproval, Disrespect, and Denial - neglect: (vb) disregard, ignore

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See words rhyming with "neglect."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Neglected.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - forsømme, negligere, tilsidesætte
n. - forsømmelse, vanrøgt, ligegyldighed

Nederlands (Dutch)
verwaarlozen, veronachtzamen, verzuimen, verwaarlozing, verzuim, achterstelling

Français (French)
v. tr. - négliger, délaisser, ne pas s'occuper de, ne pas entretenir (un jardin), négliger (sa santé), se désintéresser de, ne pas tenir compte de (qch), négliger de faire, ignorer (qch), omettre de
n. - négligence, manque d'entretien, manque de soin, indifférence

Deutsch (German)
v. - vernachlässigen, versäumen, unterlassen
n. - Vernachlässigung, Unterlassung, Nachlässigkeit

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - αμελώ, παραμελώ
n. - αμέλεια, αφροντισιά, παραμέληση, παράλειψη

Italiano (Italian)
trascurare, tralasciare, negligenza, discriminazione

Português (Portuguese)
v. - negligenciar, omitir
n. - negligência (f), omissão

Русский (Russian)
не заботиться, запустить, не выполнять, запустение, невнимание

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - descuidar, desatender, faltar a, incumplir, omitir
n. - descuido, negligencia, omisión, desatención, incumplimiento, abandono

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - underlåta, glömma, missköta, inte bry sig om
n. - försummelse, vanskötsel, nonchalans

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
忽视, 漏做, 疏忽, 怠慢, 忽略

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 忽視, 漏做, 疏忽
n. - 疏忽, 怠慢, 忽略

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 무시하다, 게을리하다
n. - 태만, 무시

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 怠る, 軽視する, 無視する, …しない
n. - 怠慢, 無視, 軽視

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يهمل, يتجاهل (الاسم) اهمال, تجاهل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הזניח, שכח, זנח, זלזל, התנכר, התרשל, השמיט‬
n. - ‮הזנחה, רשלנות, שכחה‬

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