as in careless
failing to give proper care and attention
he's certainly not a neglectful father as he takes very good care of his children
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Recent Examples of neglectful
True Crime, which will help readers understand her rise from a traumatic, neglectful childhood to become an award-winning police reporter and forensic expert and eventual author.
—
Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Many of the animals were found living in neglectful and abusive conditions, officials said.
—Joseph Buczek, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025
By the 1950s, as Glass shows, neglectful developers left new suburbs with little choice but to fund their expansion via the bond market.
—Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
Director Kim Jee-woon uses every trick in the haunted-house book when spinning the tale of two vulnerable sisters, their neglectful father, and their evil stepmother, all of whom are trapped together in a shabby (but beautifully filmed) old country house.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for neglectful
Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Many of the animals were found living in neglectful and abusive conditions, officials said.
—Joseph Buczek, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025
By the 1950s, as Glass shows, neglectful developers left new suburbs with little choice but to fund their expansion via the bond market.
—Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
Director Kim Jee-woon uses every trick in the haunted-house book when spinning the tale of two vulnerable sisters, their neglectful father, and their evil stepmother, all of whom are trapped together in a shabby (but beautifully filmed) old country house.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for neglectful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for neglectful
Adjective
-
Brooklyn got careless, committing nine turnovers in the quarter.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
That will be the difference in the game unless Darnold is careless with the ball.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Chef Velázquez recommends this sandy destination to get together with family and friends for a lazy day at the beach.—
Lauren Sanchez,
Vogue,
10 Feb. 2026
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The destination features the Loco Waterpark, the world’s longest lazy river and seven distinct neighborhoods.—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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And beyond apparent agency, the jury didn’t find the company to be negligent or have defective safety systems.—
Wyatte Grantham-Philips,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
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Wells went on trial for his wife’s murder in 2024, but a jury that February only convicted him of criminally negligent homicide.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Tighter oil coordination On January 9, Trump invited several oil executives to pitch proposals for investments in the derelict Venezuelan oil industry.—
Stefano Pozzebon,
CNN Money,
19 Jan. 2026
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This stretch of the park, an object of fascination for Urbano, contains an array of a hundred or so different models of public gaslights, now obsolete and semi-derelict.—
Javier Montes,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Neglectful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/neglectful. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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