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
Explanation
Someone who's inattentive isn't paying enough attention. An inattentive lunch companion might spend the whole meal texting on his phone. Inattentive people are sometimes distracted, like an inattentive babysitter who loses track of the kids he's watching at the playground. You can also be inattentive simply through indifference or boredom — if you're inattentive at the opera, you're not paying attention to it because you're not interested in it. Inattentive tacks the "not" prefix in- onto attentive, from the Latin root attendere, "give heed to" or "stretch toward."
Vocabulary lists containing inattentive
Absent
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Absent
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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.
Charlotin believes that the superficially authentic tone of AI bots’ output may encourage overworked or inattentive lawyers to accept bogus citations without double-checking.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 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
The filing also says the Dali was manned by "an incompetent crew that was inattentive to its duties" and "lacked proper training".
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2024
“If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, judges and governors shall all become wolves,” President Thomas Jefferson said of the dangers of an uniformed electorate.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 19, 2024
Then, inattentive as ever, she asked him if he knew how to wiggle his ears.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
