noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The state of being negligent. uncountable, usually

   "negligence while driving"

2. 2
   failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances wordnet
3. 3
   The tort whereby a duty of reasonable care was breached, causing damage: any conduct short of intentional or reckless action that falls below the legal standard for preventing unreasonable injury. singular, singular-only, uncountable, usually
4. 4
   the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern wordnet
5. 5
   The breach of a duty of care: the failure to exercise a standard of care that a reasonable person would have in a similar situation. uncountable, usually

Synonyms

All synonyms

neglectabsentmindednessaccidiaacediaallowanceapathy

Antonyms

All antonyms

care

Example

More examples

"There's no room for excuses when it comes to your negligence, is there?"

Etymology

From Middle English necligence, negligence, from Old French negligence, from Latin neglegentia.

Related phrases

contributory negligencecriminal negligenceculpable negligencegross negligencenegligence per sereasonable personstandard of care

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