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
-
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
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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:
“The state can either ignore what science is telling us, or we can respond to this challenge in a responsible way.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
With two World Championships - the second potentially in London - either side of the next Olympic Games, Kerr will continue to ignore the outside noise and follow his established winning formula.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
In short, with AI systems pursuing goals in ways that ignore or conflict with human well-being, something researchers call misalignment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Still, the central bank can’t entirely ignore energy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
The flag on the pole in front of the school is impossible to ignore.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
A superintelligent AI system that ignores human goals or misinterprets commands could, naysayers say, scramble people’s bank accounts, disrupt essential water and power supplies, or take over missile-launch systems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
It ignores the revenue side, which has failed to keep up with spending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
But what looks good on spreadsheets ignores daunting constraints.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
While making space for such drivel, the museum ignores huge swaths of American history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
There are times when Joey simply ignores it.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
In the two months before Phillips took the children again, social workers also ignored concerns raised by their older step-siblings.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
If the optical Magnus effect is ignored, it could interfere with that control and contribute to errors.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
That ignored the cost to buy declining assets and replace the earnings stream after it was gone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The plaintiffs alleged the department relied on documentation that “is the product of a biased, closed-off ‘process’ that ignored valid concerns raised by the public.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Distracted, and a bit apathetic about the rat’s disgust, Clare ignored the question.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
A perfect marriage of horror and comedy, ‘Widow’s Bay’ reminds us that ignoring monsters won’t make them go away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Years after ignoring his coach’s orders, Smith has turned those flashy catches into his signature at Ohio State, where he is now the most explosive gamebreaker in college football.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
A report from the UK's Centre for Long Term Resilience, external, published last week, identified hundreds of incidents of AI tools ignoring instructions, evading safeguards and deceiving humans, including AI agents deleting files without consent.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
In the aftermath of World War II, Austria long presented itself as a victim of the Nazis, ignoring the complicity of many Austrians.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Within the scholarly community in recent years, the main tendency has been to take the latter side, or to sidestep the controversy by ignoring mainstream politics altogether.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
