1
as in neglectfulness
failure to take the care that a cautious person usually takes
exhibiting his usual negligence, he failed to set the emergency brake, and the car rolled down the steep hill and crashed into the telephone pole
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in neglect
the nonperformance of an assigned or expected action
the factory's owners are being charged with criminal negligence for the fire that killed a dozen workers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of negligence
The lawsuit accuses the Sheriff’s Department of negligence, failing to conduct adequate safety checks and failing to appropriately supervise inmates.
—
City News Service, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
The lawsuit alleged wrongful death and personal injury claims against The University of Kansas Hospital Authority and negligence and product liability claims against LivaNova.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2026
Shaknovsky was sued by Bryan’s widow and also faces a medical negligence lawsuit for a separate surgery on Dorothy Dorsett, 70.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 24 Apr. 2026
The Hoffman family has filed a lawsuit against Boelter, which accuses him assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and negligence per se, according to the civil complaint.
—Nick Lentz, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for negligence
City News Service, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
The lawsuit alleged wrongful death and personal injury claims against The University of Kansas Hospital Authority and negligence and product liability claims against LivaNova.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2026
Shaknovsky was sued by Bryan’s widow and also faces a medical negligence lawsuit for a separate surgery on Dorothy Dorsett, 70.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 24 Apr. 2026
The Hoffman family has filed a lawsuit against Boelter, which accuses him assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and negligence per se, according to the civil complaint.
—Nick Lentz, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for negligence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for negligence
Noun
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Cornelius endorsed the revitalization plan in 2022, which seeks to modernize the area and fix problems stemming from long-term neglect.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
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Strength in one pillar supports the others; neglect in one weakens all three.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The company has built its identity around taking AI safety more seriously than its rivals, creating sky-high expectations for model security that jar with its apparent carelessness; the fact that Mythos was exposed through such a basic and predictable failure only underscores that.—
Robert Hart,
The Verge,
23 Apr. 2026
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Most bark problems come from carelessness from mowing or weed-eating too close to the tree, stripping off the bark and allowing entry.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Their bite can lead to rapid respiratory failure and paralysis without prompt medical treatment.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
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Doe alleges the school’s failure to act caused long-term emotional and psychological harm that continues today.—
Lexi Nicklaus,
Baltimore Sun,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Without any workplace oversight, the baristas did the obvious, padding their breaks by ten, fifteen, twenty minutes.—
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
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With that growth, gaps in oversight have been exploited by a small number of bad actors delivering substandard, and in many cases no, care.—
Tom Koutsoumpas,
Oc Register,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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What got centered were the perfunctory tasks government defaults to when everyone is stretched thin — checking the legal and regulatory boxes for approval, designing detour protocols, posting the orange signs in the right places and marking the lane closures clearly.—
Andrew Chrismer,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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Google has billions of users hooked on its products, and that gives it a lot of power to get new features in front of users, since people rarely change the defaults.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Negligence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/negligence. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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