ignore
Americanverb (used with object)
-
ignores,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ignored,
past participle, past
-
ignoring
present participle
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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ignorernoun
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ignorableadjective
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unignorableadjective
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unignoredadjective
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unignoringadjective
-
well-ignoredadjective
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unignorablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ignoresimple
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ignoressimple
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have ignoredperfect
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has ignoredperfect
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am ignoringprogressive
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are ignoringprogressive
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is ignoringprogressive
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have been ignoringperfect progressive
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has been ignoringperfect progressive
Past
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ignoredsimple
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had ignoredperfect
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was ignoringprogressive
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were ignoringprogressive
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had been ignoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ignore
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin ignōrāre “to not know, disregard,” verb derivative of ignārus “ignorant, unaware” (with -ō- perhaps from ignōtus “unknown”), equivalent to in- in- 3 + gnārus “knowing, acquainted (with)”; akin to (g)nōscere “to know 1 ”
Explanation
To ignore something is to disregard it. If you ignore the rules of grammar, you're likely to be misunderstood. It's easy to see the relationship between ignore and a word such as ignorant. To be ignorant of something is to know nothing about it. A good way to be ignorant about something is to ignore it. In other words, if you want to be ignorant about a certain subject—that is, if you want to know nothing about it—then by all means ignore it. Pay it no mind.
Vocabulary lists containing ignore
Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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Sula
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"Indian Summer Sun" and "Almost Evenly Divided"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Yet across the continent, their disappearance is becoming impossible to ignore, as conservationists warn that hunting linked to traditional beliefs and spiritual practices continues to threaten several vulture species to the point of near extinction.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Let’s ignore what a bad investment lottery tickets are to begin with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
This allows them in many cases to ignore things like minimum wage requirements, workplace safety and access to social security.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Wiener’s campaign said the chatbot was created with “strict guardrails” and designed to ignore controversial and malicious prompts and pivot back to Chan’s policy record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Which was supposed to be silent, a basic fact that, even in death, Mr. Gindi decided to ignore.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
But this slogan ignores how, as the state police pointed out in the Buttigieg case, false allegations steal workers’ time from finding and helping children in real danger.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Adding to the strain: The metric is artificially inflated because it ignores sharp declines in the value of some of the company’s securities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The comparison also ignores taxes and assumes you reinvested all dividends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
‘He just ignores us’: My parents put my youngest brother on the title of our family home.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
It ignores her, and looks philosophically out the window at the darkening sky.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Builder Mark Jefferson from Ilminster, Somerset, ignored the National Lottery's notifications for nine days before reluctantly answering the phone.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
A U.S. military helicopter fired at the rudder of the ship after its crew ignored warnings from American personnel working to enforce the naval blockade of Iran’s ports, the official said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
And for every day of the last three months he had ignored it, even as it moved ever closer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Federal prosecutors reviewed claims that JPMorgan Chase ignored antifraud flaws and denied more than $100 million in customer reimbursements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
I ignored him as I looked at the back of the device, where a small red light was blinking on and off.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Rather than studiously ignoring the intergalactic warlord, as some may have been tempted to do, Burnham shook him warmly by the hand as he was elected Labour MP for Makerfield.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Too much coverage cherry-picks smaller areas that happen to have lots of fire, ignoring everything else.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Williams agrees this has been her experience, one she’s grateful for in an industry often dead set on ignoring perspectives like hers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
It is assigning no value whatsoever to these environmental benefits, thereby ignoring the very health concerns the agency was created to address.
From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2026
Tag fearlessly climbed over Fat Cheeks, ignoring the rumbles a foot in the eye caused.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
