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
-
unignoringadjective
-
well-ignoredadjective
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unignorablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ignoresimple
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ignoressimple
-
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
-
ignoredsimple
-
had ignoredperfect
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was ignoringprogressive
-
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:
You have a bit of planning to do before deciding to ignore this Roth-conversion window.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
It’s easy to be cynical about earnings beat rates, but the drumbeat of positive outlooks is getting too consistent to ignore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Administration officials say the rotation was prescheduled, but the timing is hard to ignore.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
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
Just as many other young people ignore some of their parents’ advice, Joylette participated anyhow, though she didn’t tell me everything until later.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Like the deal’s opponents, the judge focuses on the Big Screen and ignores the bigger market picture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Is this a token effort so people don't ask why the list ignores the first century or so of football?
From BBC ● 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
For an Aristotelian, there is only one discipline that isolates efficient causes and structures and ignores all others, and that discipline is mechanics.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Her repeated appeals to Taliban leaders to re-open classrooms for women and girls have been ignored.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 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
"The North often feels it's ignored and I know now is the time to prove the North matters," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Carmen Schober, the profile’s author, ignored the way members of Schmidt’s online forum, Skinni Société, commiserated about their hair loss and inability to stand without getting dizzy.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
But the reproachful sound could not be ignored.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
A family almost missed out on a £1m lottery jackpot after unknowingly ignoring calls and emails notifying them that they had won.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 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
Others argued that the report seems to cast members of the media as nuisances to be dealt with, while ignoring instances in which journalists were targeted by law enforcement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 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
Adam was glaring at Callie, who was ignoring him.
From "Trouble at the Arcade (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #1)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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.
