benign neglect

benign neglect
Neglect Neg*lect", n. [L. neglectus. See {Neglect}, v.] 1. Omission of proper attention; avoidance or disregard of duty, from heedlessness, indifference, or willfulness; failure to do, use, or heed anything; culpable disregard; as, neglect of business, of health, of economy. [1913 Webster]

To tell thee sadly, shepherd, without blame, Or our neglect, we lost her as we came. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

2. Omission of attention or civilities; slight; as, neglect of strangers. [1913 Webster]

3. Habitual carelessness; negligence. [1913 Webster]

Age breeds neglect in all. --Denham. [1913 Webster]

4. The state of being disregarded, slighted, or neglected. [1913 Webster]

Rescue my poor remains from vile neglect. --Prior. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Negligence; inattention; disregard; disesteem; remissness; indifference. See {Negligence}. [1913 Webster]

{benign neglect} A deliberate policy of minimizing public discussion of a controversial issue [e.g. by the president] on the theory that excessive discussion in itself is harmful or counterproductive. [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Benign neglect — For the British policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws see Salutary neglect. Benign neglect was a policy proposed in the late 1960s by New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was at the time on Nixon s White House Staff as …   Wikipedia

  • benign neglect — /bənaɪn nəˈglɛkt/ (say buhnuyn nuh glekt) noun neglect which has beneficial results, possibly better results than if there had been active involvement or concern: a foreign policy of benign neglect …  

  • benign neglect — noun Date: 1970 an attitude or policy of ignoring an often delicate or undesirable situation that one is held to be responsible for dealing with …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • benign neglect — noun non interference which has the effect of being more beneficial than continual attention …   English new terms dictionary

  • benign neglect — noun : an attitude or policy of ignoring an often undesirable situation that one is perceived to be responsible for dealing with …   Useful english dictionary

  • Neglect — Neg*lect , n. [L. neglectus. See {Neglect}, v.] 1. Omission of proper attention; avoidance or disregard of duty, from heedlessness, indifference, or willfulness; failure to do, use, or heed anything; culpable disregard; as, neglect of business,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • neglect — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ADJECTIVE ▪ general, total ▪ relative ▪ benign ▪ The 18th century interior of the building has survived through benign neglect. ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • benign — [[t]bɪna͟ɪn[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n You use benign to describe someone who is kind, gentle, and harmless. They are normally a more benign audience... Critics of the scheme take a less benign view. Syn: charitable Derived words: benignly ADV …   English dictionary

  • neglect — [[t]nɪgle̱kt[/t]] neglects, neglecting, neglected 1) VERB If you neglect someone or something, you fail to look after them properly. [V n] The woman denied that she had neglected her child... [V n] Feed plants and they grow, neglect them and they …   English dictionary

  • neglect — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) Disregard Nouns 1. neglect, negligence, carelessness, heedlessness, thoughtlessness, dereliction, delinquency; omission, oversight, laches, default; benign neglect; rashness; procrastination. See… …   English dictionary for students

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