neglect
n. uncountablen. the act of not giving enough care or attention to someone or something. This often leads to damage or problems because you are ignoring your responsibilities.
n. the state or fact of being uncared for; a failure to provide proper attention or maintenance. Often carries a legal or moral connotation regarding the breach of a duty of care.
The old house fell into a state of neglect after years of being empty.
The garden suffered from total neglect during the long winter months, leaving the flowerbeds overgrown with weeds.
The report highlighted a systemic neglect of infrastructure, suggesting that the recent bridge failure was a predictable consequence of deferred maintenance and budget cuts.
The verb is inherited from Middle English neglect, neclect, derived from Latin neglēctus, perfect passive participle of neglegō (“to make light of, disregard, not to pick up”), itself from nec (“not”) + legō (“to pick up, select”). The noun is from neglēctus (“neglect”). First attested in 1460, the noun in 1588.
Often used in the phrase 'state of neglect' or followed by the preposition 'of'.
the neglect for his dutiesthe neglect of his dutiesNeglect is typically followed by the preposition 'of' when identifying the object being ignored.