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Definition of negligent adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

negligent

adjective
 
/ˈneɡlɪdʒənt/
 
/ˈneɡlɪdʒənt/
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  1. (law or formal) failing to give somebody/something enough care or attention, especially when this has serious results
    • The company was found to have been grossly negligent.
    • negligent in something The hospital was negligent in the way it cared for this young man.
    • negligent in (not) doing something The school had been negligent in not informing the child's parents about the incident.
    Topics Difficulty and failurec2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    adverb
    • grossly
    • criminally
    preposition
    • in
    • over
    See full entry
  2. (literary) (of a person or their manner) relaxed; not formal synonym nonchalant
    • He waved his hand in a negligent gesture.
    • her negligent grace
  3. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin negligent- ‘disregarding’, from the verb negligere (variant of neglegere ‘disregard, slight’, from neg- ‘not’ + legere ‘choose, pick up’).
See negligent in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee negligent in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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