1
as in neglectfulness
failure to take the care that a cautious person usually takes
exhibiting his usual negligence, he failed to set the emergency brake, and the car rolled down the steep hill and crashed into the telephone pole
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2
as in neglect
the nonperformance of an assigned or expected action
the factory's owners are being charged with criminal negligence for the fire that killed a dozen workers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of negligence
The victim of a violent and seemingly random assault in the parking lot of an Oklahoma City Sonic Drive-In has sued the company, claiming negligence.
—
Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 7 Feb. 2026
The jury did not find Uber liable for negligence or design defects, and the company was not ordered to pay punitive damages.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 6 Feb. 2026
The jury found that while the company had been negligent with its safety measures, that negligence was not a substantial factor in causing the woman’s harm.
—Reuters, NBC news, 6 Feb. 2026
The parents of an 8-year-old girl who remains missing and presumed dead from Camp Mystic after catastrophic Texas floodwaters ravaged the area have sued the camp and its owners for negligence.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for negligence
Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 7 Feb. 2026
The jury did not find Uber liable for negligence or design defects, and the company was not ordered to pay punitive damages.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 6 Feb. 2026
The jury found that while the company had been negligent with its safety measures, that negligence was not a substantial factor in causing the woman’s harm.
—Reuters, NBC news, 6 Feb. 2026
The parents of an 8-year-old girl who remains missing and presumed dead from Camp Mystic after catastrophic Texas floodwaters ravaged the area have sued the camp and its owners for negligence.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for negligence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for negligence
Noun
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State child welfare workers declined to open investigations into abuse or neglect in these instances, yet referred them to law enforcement anyway.—
Shoshana Walter,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Several cool props gestured to historical infrastructural neglect and botched Hurricane Maria recovery efforts.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Coach Sean Miller will focus on his team's carelessness with the ball at half; Texas has nine turnovers compared to two for Auburn.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
28 Jan. 2026
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The other was carelessness that led to Gonzalez’s clean look.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Because of Tuesday’s rule failure, any bills tucked into that measure sit at a standstill.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Feb. 2026
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The death certificate listed Fisher’s cause of death as septic shock, a bacterial infection, acute kidney failure and pneumonia.—
Theresa Clift,
Sacbee.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Lutnick and Bondi testify and lawmaker surveillance Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose name also appears in the files, answered questions about his relationship with Epstein from members of a Senate committee on Tuesday during an unrelated oversight hearing.—
Saige Miller,
NPR,
14 Feb. 2026
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The measure also asks voters to approve the creation of an oversight group that would monitor where the money goes.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Security and scale focus Security is built into the Codex stack by default.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
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That design choice blocks third-party access by default.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Negligence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/negligence. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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