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inattention

[ in-uh-ten-shuh n ]

/ ˌɪn əˈtɛn ʃən /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inattention ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

lack of attention; negligence.

an act of neglect.

RELATED WORDS

carelessness, negligence, inadvertence, abstraction, remissness, disregard, neglect, dreaminess

Nearby words

Origin of inattention

First recorded in 1700–10; in-³ + attention

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for inattention

Unmarried women were put off by inattention to their issues, particularly in the debates, says Greenberg, and that hurt Obama.
Obama’s Women Supporters and the ‘Marriage Gap’ Wild Card|Eleanor Clift|November 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Numbers also help explain all that inattention on Tuesday night.
Last Look at Munch’s ‘The Scream’ as Painting Is Auctioned for $119M|Blake Gopnik|May 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They were accidental owners who turned their inattention into a virtue.
How Old Money Beat Murdoch|Sarah Ellison|May 27, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The trouble is that an inattention to the details of money is not exactly what we want in a Treasury secretary at the moment.
Obama's Strange Obsession|Tina Brown|February 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Still, as the inflation of the claims has been urged as an excuse for inattention to them, a word upon that point is desirable.
The War With Mexico, Volume I (of 2)|Justin H. Smith
But at this moment she perceived that Gervais, profiting by her inattention, was busy seeking his "paradise lost."
Fruitfulness|Emile Zola
I fell into an inattention to religion, or an indifference about it, in my ninth year.
Life of Johnson|James Boswell
First of all, either from inattention, or from want of comprehension, these denunciations made but a faint impression upon me.
Rattlin the Reefer|Edward Howard
I am perhaps too sensitive to any kind of inattention; but it's not wholly unnatural in my position, Hector.
Beaumaroy Home from the Wars|Anthony Hope

Word Origin and History for inattention

inattention

n.

1710, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + attention.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper