negligent

[ neg-li-juhnt ]

adjective

1. guilty of or characterized by neglect, as of duty:

   negligent officials.

   Synonyms: neglectful

2. lazily careless; offhand:

   a negligent wave of his manicured hand.

negligent

/ ˈnɛɡlɪdʒənt /

adjective

1. habitually neglecting duties, responsibilities, etc; lacking attention, care, or concern; neglectful
2. careless or nonchalant

Derived Forms

• ˈnegligently, adverb

Other Words From

• negli·gent·ly adverb
• non·negli·gent adjective
• non·negli·gent·ly adverb
• over·negli·gent adjective
• over·negli·gent·ly adverb
• pre·negli·gent adjective
• quasi-negli·gent adjective
• super·negli·gent adjective
• super·negli·gent·ly adverb
• un·negli·gent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of negligent¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, variant of necligent, from Latin necligent-, negligent-, stem of negligēns “disregarding,” present participle of negligere, variant of neglegere “to disregard, ignore, slight”; neglect

Example Sentences

Was it negligent for the police to fail to consider the two crimes in context?

From The Daily Beast

But their action just proved another confounding piece of this negligent puzzle.

From The Daily Beast

To buy that you would have to accept that Brooks was either negligent or incompetent.

From The Daily Beast

It was a negligent accident that cost more than 30 lives, including a salvage diver who perished working on the wreck.

From The Daily Beast

Requiring licenses and negligent discharge insurance would be part of common sense reform.

From The Daily Beast

If there be no facilities for stopping for the night, a driver is not negligent should he proceed through the fog.

From Project Gutenberg

But he is not an insurer of the property; and therefore is not liable for loss by fire unless he has been negligent.

From Project Gutenberg

This rule does not prevent him from seeking relief when the agent of the insurer has been negligent.

From Project Gutenberg

His negligent lack of interest seemed to me to be an evident giving of his voice to the queen, if he was a part of this gathering.

From Project Gutenberg

"My name is Ivan Behrend," returned the stranger, without changing his negligent attitude.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• inadvertent
• inattentive
• lax
• sloppy