neglect

/nɪˈɡlɛkt/

//nɪˈɡlɛkt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"neglect" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“neglect” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,784. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,784
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To fail to care for or attend to something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-neglect · neglect · English

neglect · rank #9,784 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,784
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH modify

Nearest frequency peer: modify (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “neglect”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “neglect” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

neglect vs neglected
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for neglect
PropertyValue
Headwordneglect
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/nɪˈɡlɛkt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,784
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “neglect” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).neglectlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “modify” (#9,783), “northwestern” (#9,785), “NZ” (#9,786). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around neglect (IPA /nɪˈɡlɛkt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,784 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for neglect, with forms such as "englect", "negelct", and "negglect". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "neglected", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is inherited from Middle English neglect, neclect, derived from Latin neglēctus, perfect passive participle of neglegō (“to make light of, disregard, not to pick up”), itself from nec (“not”) + legō (“to pick up, select”). The noun is from neglēctu… The correct English form is neglect, spelled N-E-G-L-E-C-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To fail to care for or attend to something.
  2. 2
    To omit to notice; to forbear to treat with attention or respect; to slight.
  3. 3
    To fail to do or carry out something due to oversight or carelessness.
  4. 4
    To ignore for the sake of simplifying calculations without significantly affecting accuracy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how neglect appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. to neglect duty or business; to neglect to pay debts
  2. I hope My absence doth neglect no great designs.

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English neglect, neclect, derived from Latin neglēctus, perfect passive participle of neglegō (“to make light of, disregard, not to pick up”), itself from nec (“not”) + legō (“to pick up, select”). The noun is from neglēctus (“neglect”). First attested in 1460, the noun in 1588.

Synonyms

let slidedisregardtake no notice ofignorefailforget

Antonyms

caremindreckcareconsidernoticeregardpay attention

This word in other languages

descuidar(Español)négliger(Français)vernachlässigen(Deutsch)negligenciar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • englect
  • negelct
  • negglect
  • neglcet
  • neglecct
  • neglectt
  • negletc
  • negllect
  • nelgect
  • ngelect
  • nneglect

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of neglect - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

englect2negelct2negglect1neglcet2neglecct1neglectt1negletc2negllect1
Edit distance from "neglect"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "neglect"?
"neglect" is spelled N-E-G-L-E-C-T. The IPA pronunciation is /nɪˈɡlɛkt/.
What does "neglect" mean?
As a verb, "neglect" means: To fail to care for or attend to something.
What words are commonly confused with "neglect"?
"neglect" is commonly confused with "neglected". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "neglect"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "neglect" is /nɪˈɡlɛkt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "neglect"?
The verb is inherited from Middle English neglect, neclect, derived from Latin neglēctus, perfect passive participle of neglegō (“to make light of, disregard, not to pick up”), itself from nec (“not”) + legō (“to pick up, select”). The noun is fro... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "neglect", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Phillip#9,790pitcher#9,792Preston#9,798Iceland#9,766

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

hesitate11 variantsharmless11 variantsfascist11 variantsfaction11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "neglect". Here's where to go from here.

  • This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "neglected". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #9,784 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "N" letter cohort. N–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list