Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Characterized by neglect; heedless: synonym: negligent.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Characterized by neglect, inattention, or indifference to something which ought to be or is worthy of being done, attended to, or regarded; heedless; inattentive; careless: used either absolutely, or with of before the object of neglect: as, he is very neglectful; neglectful of one's duties.
  • Indicating neglect, slight, or indifference.
  • Synonyms Remise, etc. See negligent.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Full of neglect; heedless; careless; negligent; inattentive; indifferent.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Tending to neglect; failing to take care of matters which require attention.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective failing in what duty requires
  • adjective not showing due care or attention

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From neglect +‎ -ful.

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Examples

  • Thus full of contradictions, unbending yet haughty, gentle yet fierce, tender and again neglectful, he by some strange art found easy entrance to the admiration and affection of women; now caressing and now tyrannizing over them according to his mood, but in every change a despot.

    I.4 1826

  • He's not neglectful, which is more than I can say for some docs.

    I have Lyrica, and why men shouldn't try and FORCE me into silence. Elizabeth McClung 2008

  • Most of the children I've had in my home come from young, low-income, single mothers who did the best they could but were deemed "neglectful" for being unable to provide for their children.

    Mail Call 2008

  • The other side of the pressure and stress is caused by the very large number of people who assume that only a SAHM can be a good mother, and a career oriented woman must be some kind of neglectful mother who is having her kids raised by strangers.

    Should She or Shouldn’t She? JoAnne 2005

  • She and her fellow "playground mums" feel marginalized by their husbands and disrespected by working mothers, but she cannot convey her disappointments in a way that compares with the bone-deep guilt of the "neglectful" working mother.

    Playground mum vs. Agent Provocateur bradamant 2002

  • "Well, if I been kind of neglectful, it ain't that I'm not interested in you-all a heap!"

    Black Jack Max Brand 1918

  • Meanwhile my son ran around the parking lot, just like those unsupervised kids that you look at as they run around in the parking lot, and you wonder, "what kind of neglectful parent just lets their kids run around in the parking lot like that?"

    Holidailies 2009 2009

  • * It never occured to me, that she did not have any time to organize them, I just assumed it was some kind of neglectful lazy oversight on her part, and felt genetically ashamed that a) she could not seem to keep her coupons organized and b) that we were the kind of family that needed to use coupons.

    wendchymes Diary Entry wendchymes 2007

  • Ms. Majors agrees with Boise police, and with Ferdinand himself, that he was "neglectful," but correctly said "that's not what we were there to decide.

    TrishAndHalli.com 2008

  • Ms. Majors agrees with Boise police, and with Ferdinand himself, that he was "neglectful," but correctly said "that's not what we were there to decide.

    TrishAndHalli.com 2008

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