What does neglecting mean?
Neglecting means failing to give proper attention, care, or treatment to a person, responsibility, or obligation. It often implies that something should have been done but was not, making it especially useful for discussing neglected duties, maintenance, children, responsibilities, or official requirements. The word can also mean deliberately ignoring a rule, instruction, or concern. Its tone ranges from matter-of-fact in reports to strongly critical when describing harm caused by inaction. In phrases such as “neglect one’s duties” and “neglect to reply,” it identifies a failure that is generally both avoidable and significant. Neglecting is the present participle of the verb neglect and is commonly used in progressive constructions, though it can also stand alone before an implied object.
verbTo fail to give proper attention, care, or treatment to someone or something, especially when one has a duty or responsibility to do so. As a present participle, it can also mean deliberately disregarding a person, rule, or obligation.
- To fail to give proper attention, care, or treatment to a person, duty, or responsibility.
- To deliberately disregard or ignore a person, rule, instruction, or obligation.
"The warning must not go unheeded, or we will be neglecting our responsibilities."
"By failing to file the report on time, she was neglecting her professional duties."
"The novel does not neglect the ordinary lives of people living outside the capital."
The word has a warning built into its history: from Latin, it originally meant to pick out or gather, but the prefix neg- turned that idea into its opposite—literally, not to choose, and eventually, not to care for.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does neglecting come from?
The word comes through English from Old French and Latin forms related to neglegere, meaning “to disregard” or “to neglect.” The Latin root combines neg-, meaning “not,” with legere, meaning “to gather, pick out, or choose,” so its development reflects a movement from not selecting something to disregarding or failing to care for it. The same Latin root underlies negligent, negligence, and negligible.
Related word forms
How neglecting is actually used
The word is usually neutral to negative and is especially common when discussing responsibilities, maintenance, care, or formal obligations. The phrase “neglect to do something” is standard; “neglect doing something” is also possible, particularly in American usage.
Easily confused with neglecting
Neglecting is the act or present participle of failing to give proper attention, whereas neglectful is an adjective describing someone who habitually fails to do so.