noun ·4 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The state or quality of being inadvertent; inadvertency; heedlessness; carelessness; negligence. countable, uncountable

   "Many mistakes proceed from inadvertence."

2. 2
   the trait of forgetting or ignoring your responsibilities wordnet
3. 3
   An effect or result of inattention; an oversight or mistake from negligence. countable, uncountable

   "The size is an inadvertence like the tailor's stitches, to allow a style to emerge."

4. 4
   an unintentional omission resulting from failure to notice something wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

oversightheedlessnessunmindfulnessabsentmindednessbalkbevue

Example

More examples

"Many mistakes proceed from inadvertence."

Etymology

From Middle French inadvertance.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.