TOP

Definition of neglect verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

neglect

verb
 
/nɪˈɡlekt/
 
/nɪˈɡlekt/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they neglect
 
/nɪˈɡlekt/
 
/nɪˈɡlekt/
he / she / it neglects
 
/nɪˈɡlekts/
 
/nɪˈɡlekts/
past simple neglected
 
/nɪˈɡlektɪd/
 
/nɪˈɡlektɪd/
past participle neglected
 
/nɪˈɡlektɪd/
 
/nɪˈɡlektɪd/
-ing form neglecting
 
/nɪˈɡlektɪŋ/
 
/nɪˈɡlektɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. neglect somebody/something to fail to take care of somebody/something
    • She denies neglecting her baby.
    • The buildings had been neglected for years.
    • Don’t neglect your health.
    • Local communities have been neglected in favour of private sector interests.
    Topics Difficulty and failurec1, Buildingsc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • grossly
    • seriously
    • completely
    verb + neglect
    • tend to
    • cannot afford to
    preposition
    • in favour/​favor of
    See full entry
  2. neglect something to not give enough attention to something
    • Dance has been neglected by television.
    • She has neglected her studies.
    • They are neglecting their duty as elected representatives.
    Extra Examples
    • These are subjects generally neglected by historians.
    • This sector is one of the major growth areas and we cannot afford to neglect it.
    • an aspect of the problem conspicuously neglected by social scientists
    • They conveniently neglected their responsibilities.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • grossly
    • seriously
    • completely
    verb + neglect
    • tend to
    • cannot afford to
    preposition
    • in favour/​favor of
    See full entry
  3. neglect to do something (formal) to fail or forget to do something that you ought to do synonym omit
    • You neglected to mention the name of your previous employer.
  4. see also negligence
    Word Originearly 16th cent.: from Latin neglect- ‘disregarded’, from the verb neglegere, from neg- ‘not’ + legere ‘choose, pick up’.
See neglect in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee neglect in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Other results

All matches
dizzy
adjective
 
 
From the Topic
Health problems
C1
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day