remiss

[ri-mis]

See more synonyms for remiss on Thesaurus.com

adjective

negligent, careless, or slow in performing one's duty, business, etc.: He's terribly remiss in his work.
characterized by negligence or carelessness.
lacking force or energy; languid; sluggish.

Origin of remiss

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin remissus (past participle of remittere to send back, slacken, relax); see remit

Related formsre·miss·ly, adverbre·miss·ness, nouno·ver·re·miss, adjectiveo·ver·re·miss·ly, adverbo·ver·re·miss·ness, noun

Synonyms for remiss

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1, 2. derelict, thoughtless, lax, slack, neglectful. 3. dilatory, slothful, slow.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for remissness

slackness, oversight, laxness, inattention, thoughtlessness, laxity, forgetfulness, failure, disregard, neglect, unpreparedness

Examples from the Web for remissness

Historical Examples of remissness

She returned only the more oppressed by the sense of remissness—of remorse.
Elsie Marley, Honey
Joslyn Gray
Every day it is so, and there is no remissness in the observance of the custom.
Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms
Fa-Hsien
His excuse for remissness in correspondence was, "I am a young man and in Paris."
Washington Irving
Charles Dudley Warner
He rejoiced in death, when, from no remissness of his, it closed his labours.
Sir Walter Ralegh
William Stebbing
There can be no relaxation of effort, no remissness, in such a quest.
The Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. Peter
J. Rawson Lumby

British Dictionary definitions for remissness

remiss

adjective (postpositive)

lacking in care or attention to duty; negligent
lacking in energy; dilatory

Derived Formsremissly, adverbremissness, noun

Word Origin for remiss

C15: from Latin remissus from remittere to release, from re- + mittere to send

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

Word Origin and History for remissness

remiss

adj.

early 15c., "weak, dissolved," from Latin remissus "relaxed, languid; negligent," past participle of remittere "slacken, abate, let go" (see remit). Meaning "characterized by lack of strictness" is attested from mid-15c.; that of "characterized by negligence" is from mid-15c.