Negligence Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of negligence is the quality or state of being negligent. How to use negligence in a sentence. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut negligence noun SaveWord neg·​li·​gence |\ˈne-gli-jən(t)s \ Definitionofnegligence 1a :thequalityorstateofbeingnegligent b :failuretoexercisethecarethatareasonablyprudentpersonwouldexerciseinlikecircumstances …hisnaiveteandnegligencehadbeenthesourceofhisproblems.—MichaelLeahy 2 :anactorinstanceofbeingnegligent regrettedhispastnegligences Synonyms&Antonyms MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutnegligence Synonyms&Antonymsfornegligence Synonyms carelessness, dereliction, heedlessness, incaution, incautiousness, laxness, neglectfulness, remissness, slackness Antonyms care, carefulness, caution, cautiousness, heedfulness VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofnegligenceinaSentence Thecompanywaschargedwithnegligenceinthemanufacturingofthedefectivetires. exhibitinghisusualnegligence,hefailedtosettheemergencybrake,andthecarrolleddownthesteephillandcrashedintothetelephonepole RecentExamplesontheWeb Millionsarelivingwithwounds,physicalandinvisible,sustainedinservicetothenation-injuriesnotonlyduetotheharshrealitiesofcombatbutalsotheresultofexploitation,discrimination,demonizationandnegligence. — KarounDemirjian,AlexHorton,AnchorageDailyNews,11Nov.2021 Thefamily'slawsuit,filedbycivilrightsattorneyBenCrump,allegesnegligenceregardingcrowdcontrol,medicalattentionandeventstaffing. — KiaraAlfonseca,ABCNews,9Nov.2021 CorporatealongsideScottandLiveNation,citingnegligenceandallegingthattheperformershelpedincitethecrowd. — SaraNetzley,EW.com,8Nov.2021 Thedeathsappeartoresultfromthefestival’sstampedingcrowdandotherallegednegligence. — A.d.Amorosi,Variety,8Nov.2021 Thelawsuitaccusestheunidentifiedofficerwithassaultwithadeadlyweapon,inflictionofemotionaldistressandgrossnegligence. — EmmettJones,FoxNews,4Nov.2021 Thefactthatthisisn’tafirmrequirementcouldverywellbeconsiderednegligenceonpartofthepharmaceuticalcompaniesandregulatorycommittees,giventhemagnitudeofthedangersthatawaitusifthevirusassumesmorelethalforms. — WilliamA.Haseltine,Forbes,4Nov.2021 Bryanthasaccusedcountyfirstrespondersofimproperlysharingphotosofherdeadhusbandanddaughterfromahelicoptercrashlastyearandissuingthecountyforinvasionofprivacyandnegligence. — BrentSchrotenboer,USATODAY,1Nov.2021 Theinsurancecompanywilldoitsowninvestigation,Shapirosaid,todetermineifnegligenceoccurred. — chicagotribune.com,27Oct.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'negligence.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofnegligence 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a HistoryandEtymologyfornegligence MiddleEnglishnecligence,neglicence,borrowedfromAnglo-French,borrowedfromLatinneglegentia,neclegentia,fromneglegent-,neglegens,necligensnegligent+-ia-iaentry1 LearnMoreAboutnegligence Sharenegligence PosttheDefinitionofnegligencetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofnegligenceonTwitter TimeTravelerfornegligence Thefirstknownuseofnegligencewas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearnegligence negligee negligence negligency SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtonegligence culpablenegligence Statisticsfornegligence LastUpdated 18Nov2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Negligence.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/negligence.Accessed20Nov.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsfornegligence negligence noun EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofnegligence :failuretotakethecarethataresponsiblepersonusuallytakes:lackofnormalcareorattention SeethefulldefinitionfornegligenceintheEnglishLanguageLearnersDictionary negligence noun neg·​li·​gence |\ˈne-glə-jəns \ KidsDefinitionofnegligence :failuretotakeproperornormalcareofsomethingorsomeone negligence noun neg·​li·​gence |\ˈne-gli-jəns \ Legal Definitionofnegligence :failuretoexercisethedegreeofcareexpectedofapersonofordinaryprudenceinlikecircumstancesinprotectingothersfromaforeseeableandunreasonableriskofharminaparticularsituation also :conductthatreflectsthisfailure —calledalso ordinarynegligence,simplenegligence —compareabusesense2,duecare,intent Note: Negligencemayrenderonecivillyandsometimescriminallyliableforresultinginjuries. — collateralnegligence :negligenceonthepartofanindependentcontractorthatisnotconnectedwithamannerofworkingorriskordinarilyassociatedwithparticularworkandforwhichtheemployerofthecontractorisnotliable — comparativenegligence \ kəm-​ˈpar-​ə-​tiv-​ \ 1a :negligenceofoneamongmultiplepartiesinvolvedinaninjurythatismeasured(asinpercentages)accordingtothedegreeofitscontributiontotheinjury thecomparativenegligenceoftheplaintiff b :adoctrine,rule,ormethodofapportioningliabilityanddamagesintortlaw:negligenceanddamagesaredeterminedbyreferencetotheproportionatefaultoftheplaintiffanddefendantwiththenegligenceoftheplaintiffnotconstitutinganabsolutebartorecoveryfromthedefendant—comparecontributorynegligenceinthisentry Note: Thegreatmajorityofstateshavereplacedthedoctrineofcontributorynegligencewiththatofcomparativenegligence. 2 :anaffirmativedefenseallegingcomparativenegligencebytheplaintiff — contributorynegligence 1 :negligenceonthepartofaplaintiffthatcontributedtotheinjuryatissue 2 :anowlargelyabolisheddoctrineintortlaw:negligenceonthepartofaplaintiffthatcontributedtotheinjuryatissuewillbarrecoveryfromthedefendant also :anaffirmativedefensebasedonthisdoctrine — criminalnegligence :agrossdeviationfromthestandardofcareexpectedofareasonablepersonthatismanifestinafailuretoprotectothersfromarisk(asofdeath)derivingfromone'sconductandthatrendersonecriminallyliable —calledalso culpablenegligence —comparegrossnegligenceinthisentry — grossnegligence :negligencethatismarkedbyconductthatpresentsanunreasonablyhighdegreeofrisktoothersandbyafailuretoexerciseeventheslightestcareinprotectingthemfromitandthatissometimesassociatedwithconsciousandwillfulindifferencetotheirrights—seealsorecklessness—comparecriminalnegligenceinthisentry — negligenceperse \ -​ˌpər-​ˈsā,-​ˈsē \ :negligencethatconsistsofaviolationofastatuteespeciallydesignedtoprotectthepublicsafety Note: Recoverymaybehadonatheoryofnegligencepersewhentheharmresultingfromtheviolationisthetypethatthestatuteisdesignedtoprevent,theplaintiffisamemberoftheclassofpersonssoughttobeprotectedbythestatute,andtheviolationistheproximatecauseoftheplaintiff'sinjury. — ordinarynegligence :negligence — passivenegligence :failuretodosomething(astodiscoveradangerousconditiononone'sproperty)thatisnotabreachofanaffirmativedutyandthatincombinationwithanother'sactisacauseofinjury — simplenegligence :negligence — slightnegligence :failuretoexercisethegreatdegreeofcaretypicalofanextraordinarilyprudentperson Note: Thecategoryofslightnegligenceisusedmuchlessfrequentlythanordinarynegligenceandgrossnegligence,theothermembersofathree-levelclassificationthatwasformerlyprevalent. MorefromMerriam-Websteronnegligence Nglish:TranslationofnegligenceforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofnegligenceforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutnegligence WORDOFTHEDAY trepidation SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary DifficultSpellingWordsQuiz Whichisthecorrectspelling? accommodate acommadate accomodate acommodate Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases Hypercorrections:Areyoumakingthese6commonmistakes? Whenyour'correction'isincorrect TheManyPluralsof'Octopus' Butwhichiscorrect? 8SignificantWordsfor'Insignificant' Alistthatisanythingbuttrivial AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames NameThatEmotion It'sawholemood Takethequiz FallBackintoOurAutumnQuiz Whydowecalltheseason‘fall’? Takethequiz SpellIt Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? Takethequiz