What does remiss mean?
Remiss means careless or negligent in carrying out a duty, responsibility, or required action. Its use often carries a moral or evaluative force: a person described as remiss has failed to meet a standard of care that ought to have been maintained. The adjective can also indicate that something is lax, slow, or insufficient in its scope. For example, officials may be called remiss for failing to enforce safety rules, while a punishment or response may be described as remiss for being too mild or insufficient. In ordinary conversation, remiss sounds more formal than everyday alternatives such as careless or negligent. Its usefulness lies in its ability to identify not merely an unsuccessful outcome but a failure to exercise appropriate diligence, vigilance, or responsibility.
Careless or negligent in performing a duty or responsibility; failing to exercise proper care or attention.
"The committee was remiss in not reviewing the safety procedures before approving the project."
Often used in formal, moral, or legal contexts.
Lax, slow, or insufficient in degree or application.
"The regulations were too remiss to prevent the widespread abuse."
Being remiss is more than simply being busy: it means allowing carelessness or negligence to take the place of a responsibility that ought to be met.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does remiss come from?
Remiss comes from Latin remissus, the past participle of remittere, meaning to send back, loosen, or release. In English, the word developed the sense of negligent or lax, especially through the idea of a person or institution being slack in performing a duty. Related words include remit, remission, and remittance, all reflecting the same Latin root involving sending or releasing.
Related word forms
How remiss is actually used
Remiss has a formal, often moral or legal tone. It commonly describes negligence in performing a duty, but it can also mean that something is insufficient or deliberately restrained.
Easily confused with remiss
Remiss is an adjective describing negligence or laxness, while remit is primarily a verb meaning to send or transmit and can also mean to reduce or defer.
Remiss describes a failure to fulfill a responsibility, whereas remission means a reduction in a punishment, a decrease in intensity, or the pardoning of a sin.