Synonyms for inattention
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Carelessness — lack of attention, or failure to pay attention
carelessness, neglect, disregard, indifference, thoughtlessness, negligence, inadvertence, oversight, slight, heedlessness, remissness, inadvertency
Other
Definitions
- n. 1
Lack of attention, or failure to pay attention
Forms
- Plural
- inattentions → carelessnesses, neglects, disregards, indifferences…
Choose the right word
We miss seeing a thing through inadvertence when do not happen to look at it; through inattention when we give no heed to it, though directly before us. Inadvertence may be an involuntary accident; inattention is culpable neglect.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- neglect She was dismissed on the grounds of neglect of duty.
- disregard Tom showed reckless disregard for Mary's feelings.
- indifference The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.
- carelessness The accident was due to the driver's carelessness.
- distraction Yanni is Skura's distraction from her painful life.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| inattention | rising | |
| neglect | steady | |
| disregard | falling | |
| indifference | steady | |
| carelessness | falling | |
| distraction | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- slight1
- 7 letters
- neglect2
- 9 letters
- oversight3, disregard3
- 10 letters
- negligence3, remissness
- 11 letters
- distraction3, unattention
- 12 letters
- indifference4, carelessness3, inadvertence4, heedlessness, inadvertency
- 15 letters
- thoughtlessness
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (neglect2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- inattention