Vocapedia
Log inTry for Free
Log in

Looking up...

Words

  • Words of the Year
  • Recent Lookups
  • My Dictionary

Languages

  • English
  • Vietnamese
  • Japanese
  • Chinese
  • Spanish
  • French
  • Korean
  • German

Features

  • Words of the Year
  • My Collections List
  • Reviews
  • Learning Resources
  • Community Collections

Learn

  • How It Works
  • Study Guides
  • Language Tips
  • FAQ
  • Getting Started
  • For Individuals
  • For Teachers

Community

  • Forum
  • Blog
  • Help Center
  • Partnerships

About

  • About Vocapedia
  • Contact Us
  • Feedback

Legal

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility
  • GDPR Compliance
© 2026 Vocapedia. All rights reserved.

negligent

/ˈneɡlɪdʒənt/
adjective★Intermediate— failing to take proper care or attention
⚖️Law
formal

Failing to exercise reasonable care, attention, or caution in performing a duty or task.

The company was sued for negligent hiring after an employee harmed a customer.

The company failed to properly screen the employee, leading to legal action.

💡

In legal contexts, negligence often involves a breach of duty that results in harm.

general

Careless or indifferent in one's actions or responsibilities.

She was negligent in her work, often missing deadlines.

She did not take her responsibilities seriously, leading to poor performance.

Collocations

negligent behavioractions showing a lack of carenegligent dutyfailure to fulfill a responsibility properly

Synonyms

carelessrecklessinattentivederelict

Antonyms

diligentattentivecarefulresponsible

Related Phrases

negligent homicidephrase
a death caused by carelessness or recklessness
negligent dischargephrase
accidentally firing a gun

💡Pro Tip

Legal vs. General Use

In legal contexts, negligence often involves a breach of duty, while in general use, it refers to carelessness.

⚡Gold Rule

Precision in Legal Contexts

In law, negligence requires proving a duty of care, a breach, causation, and harm.

📖Word Origin

From Latin 'negligentem', meaning 'careless', from 'negligere' (to neglect).

📝Usage Notes

Often used in legal contexts to describe a failure to meet a standard of care.

Word Breakdown

neglig-
careless
root
+
-ent
having the quality of
suffix
English Dictionary

Learning Progress

Track your learning journey!

• Save words to build your vocabulary

• Monitor your daily streak

• Get personalized review reminders

• See words learned statistics

Log in to access advanced features and track your progress!

Go to Dashboard →

Recent Lookups

The most recent words being looked up. Stay up to date with what language learners are exploring.