inattentive
Americanadjective
-
Inattentive or careless driving is a serious issue, and cell phones clearly contribute to it.
- Synonyms:
- thoughtless, slipshod, slapdash, remiss, regardless, neglectful, irresponsible, careless
- Antonyms:
- mindful, thoughtful, careful
-
characterized by or exhibiting a lack of focus or concentration.
Most children are occasionally inattentive, distractible, impulsive, or highly active.
- Synonyms:
- oblivious, faraway, dreamy, distracted, abstracted, absent-minded, absent, ditzy, unmindful, heedless, distrait, preoccupied
- Antonyms:
- mindful, thoughtful, careful
adjective
Other Word Forms
- inattention noun
- inattentively adverb
- inattentiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of inattentive
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.
In Europe, for example, where Musk has said he hopes to win approval for FSD as soon as February, carmakers are mandated to have effective strategies to warn inattentive drivers.
From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025
After all, she’s a household name, which is no small consideration in a state as vast and politically inattentive as California.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025
Jurors ultimately decided that Penny was not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, which “involves causing someone's death by acting in a manner that was reckless, inattentive, or careless.”
From Salon • Dec. 9, 2024
A new study calculates that exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood altered the balance of mental health in the U.S. population, making generations of Americans more depressed, anxious and inattentive or hyperactive.
From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2024
Her grown children had left home, and her husband was inattentive, and she was depressed.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
