What does disregard mean?
Disregard means to pay no attention to something or to treat it as unimportant, whether deliberately or carelessly. As a verb, it describes the act of ignoring a rule, warning, request, or piece of advice — 'she disregarded the instructions' implies she knew of them but chose not to follow them. As a noun, it refers to that same attitude or behavior, often with a strongly disapproving tone: phrases like 'a flagrant disregard for safety' signal not just ignorance but contempt or recklessness. The word carries more weight than simple synonyms like 'ignore', because it suggests a conscious decision to overlook something that arguably deserved attention. It derives from the Old French 'regarder', meaning to look at or observe, combined with the negative prefix 'dis-', so its literal sense is 'not to look at'. This makes it useful across contexts from everyday speech to legal writing, where 'disregard' can describe anything from a missed memo to wilful lawbreaking.
To pay no attention to; to ignore deliberately.
"The judge warned that anyone who disregards the court order would face penalties."
Lack of attention or respect; the state of treating something as unimportant.
"His complete disregard for other people's feelings made collaboration difficult."
The word 'disregard' is simply 'regard' wearing a negative prefix — English built it by flipping an older French borrowing on its head.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of disregard
Disregard comes from the Old French verb 'regarder', meaning 'to look at, observe, or heed', formed from 're-' and a Germanic root related to guarding or watching. English adopted 'regard' in the late Middle Ages, and by the early 17th century had prefixed it with 'dis-' to form 'disregard', literally 'to fail to look at'. It shares this root with words such as 'guard' and 'ward', all tracing back to the Germanic base *wardōn, meaning to watch over.
Related word forms
How disregard is actually used
Commonly used in formal and written registers. The noun often appears in legal and journalistic contexts, especially in phrases like 'total disregard for the law'.
Easily confused with disregard
Regard means to consider or think of in a specified way, while disregard means the opposite — to ignore or dismiss entirely.