Inattentive

//ˌɪn.əˈtɛn.tɪv// adj

adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to a lack of attention; not paying attention; careless.

    "He was inattentive in class and did not do well in his exams."

Adjective
  1. 1
    showing a lack of attention or care wordnet
  2. 2
    not showing due care or attention wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
distracteddistraitnegligentabsent mindedabsent-mindedabsentminded

Example

More examples

"The driver was inattentive and could not stop in time."

Etymology

From in- + attentive.

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