nonfeasance

American

[non-fee-zuhns] / nɒnˈfi zəns /

noun

Law.

the omission of some act that ought to have been performed.

nonfeasance British

/ ˌnɒnˈfiːzəns /

noun

law a failure to act when under an obligation to do so Compare malfeasance misfeasance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of nonfeasance

1590–1600; non- + obsolete feasance; see malfeasance

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.

“The only question that remains is whether this is nonfeasance or malfeasance,” he said.

From Washington Times • Jul. 29, 2022

This Gil was incredibly easy to work for, to the point of complete nonfeasance.

From Washington Post • Jan. 23, 2015

Will they ever hold a hearing to find out the source of their own nonfeasance?

From New York Times • May 30, 2014

But what have New Yorkers been if not blindsided by incessant malfeasance and nonfeasance in the state capital?

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2010

As it was now pretty clear that case would lie for a nonfeasance, the notion was mistaken, and we shall see that it was denied in subsequent decisions.

From The Common Law by Holmes, Oliver Wendell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023